telecommunications
Dispute over Internet empty pipes – authority proposes prices
According to an authority spokesman, the monthly prices are between 30 and 89 percent lower than the fees requested by Telekom, depending on the pipe category. photo
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
Telekom has to let competitors into its underground pipes so that a road doesn’t have to be opened up again for new Internet cables. But how much money should she get for it?
In the dispute over the rental prices for pipes used for fiber optic internet, the Federal Network Agency has made a groundbreaking decision. The authority published a draft fee on Wednesday, on which the EU Commission is yet to take a position. It’s about so-called empty pipes Telekom, which lie from the distribution box to the house and contain fiber optics from the Magenta Group.
In 2022, the network agency obliged Telekom, as a market-powerful company, to open these pipes to competitors – they should also be able to insert their cables and therefore not have to dig for their own pipes themselves. The level of the rental prices is still unclear. The empty conduits are important in order to provide consumers with a large range of fiber optics. Telekom’s competitors, however, do not have to open their pipes – unless it is a state-funded expansion area.
Last year, Telekom applied for corresponding prices. The draft decision now presented is the authority’s response to the application. This had caused criticism among competitors: Vodafone managers spoke of “lunar prices”.
Compared to the prices requested by Telekom, the fees now targeted are significantly lower. According to an authority spokesman, the monthly prices are between 30 and 89 percent lower than the fees requested by Telekom, depending on the pipe category. However, compared to another section, the main distribution network, where there are already regulated prices, the fees now planned are higher. When determining the fees, it is taken into account that Telekom is likely to lose customers if its pipes contain fiber optics from competitors.
Müller: Protect legitimate interests
A balance is being created between the interests of Telekom and competitors in favor of nationwide fiber optic expansion, explained head of the authority Klaus Müller. “On the one hand, we protect Telekom’s legitimate interests and, on the other hand, we enable competitors to implement their business models.”
The Bonn company has made progress with fiber optic expansion. At the beginning of the year, its “Fiber to the Home” (FTTH) was available in eight million households in Germany. Competitor Vodafone is a late starter – in order to reduce its large gap in FTTH, cheap and uncomplicated access to the magenta tubes would help the Düsseldorf company. Vodafone itself does not have to open its few empty fiber optic pipes to the competition because the company is not considered to have market power.
A Telekom spokeswoman was critical of the authority’s plans to significantly reduce the requested fees. “This contradicts the goal of supporting investments in fiber optic expansion – especially the expensive civil engineering work to lay pipes – with appropriate fees.” Low wages only serve “those who don’t want to pick up a spade.” Vodafone manager Michael Jungwirth explained that Germany now has a great opportunity to make a decision for more fiber optics and fewer construction sites. The draft shows that the authority has recognized that Telekom’s “huge infrastructure treasure” must be used – “at fairer prices and with more transparent information than before.”