Mobile: Cartel Office demands changes to frequency extension plan

The German Federal Cartel Office is dissatisfied with the improved plan for the five-year extension of frequency usage rights for Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica (o2). Although the changes are a step in the right direction, they are not enough to maintain competition. At issue are frequency rights for 800 MHz, 1.8 GHz and 2.6 GHz, which expire this year.

The Federal Cartel Office is demanding that the rights holders be obliged to accept subtenants in their networks, both the new network operator 1&1 and virtual providers without their own radio network. a "genuine service provider obligation". The Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) wants to leave it at a pure negotiation requirement, which it is now supplementing with specifications to encourage agreements. However, the broadband association Breko and consumer advocates are also calling for a real obligation.

The President of the Federal Cartel Office, Andreas Mundt, is calling for better "protection of competition by service providers against unequal power relations with established network operators". At present, it appears that the Federal Network Agency will accept so-called wholesale bans in the required roaming and cooperation agreements between 1&1 and the network operators benefiting from the extension of frequency rights. Mundt warns that such interventions at the expense of major customers would "set back by years the hope of a revival of competition on the wholesale market, which was actually associated with the market entry of 1&1 as the fourth network operator".

The Federal Network Agency's original initiative was rejected by the Cartel Office. Initially, it was against continuing the usage rights at all and preferred a new award procedure. Time is now running out for this. The Monopolies Commission has argued that the licenses should be extended for a maximum of three years.

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