Goodbye copper? Dispute over speed and responsibility in fiber optic transition

The transition from the old copper infrastructure to a modern fiber optic infrastructure is coming, but the general conditions are still the subject of heated debate in the industry. The fiber optic industry has the issue burning under its fingernails, as it hopes that a master plan for this transition will accelerate the expansion of fiber optics. Opinions differ as to who is responsible for this.

“We can't switch off the copper networks in the short term,” said Ute Dreger, Head of the Gigabit Expansion, Market Regulation and Telecommunications Department at the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA), at the Anga Com broadband trade fair in Cologne on Wednesday, putting the brakes on expectations. “The prerequisites for this are not in place.” However, in the opinion of the expanding companies, it is the task of the BNetzA to create these conditions.

The Federal Network Agency recently published an impulse paper with which it intends to shape the debate constructively in the industry. In it, the regulatory authority relies on consensus and cooperation between the market participants. Dreger said that she was surprised by the great response to the impulse paper. “Even from circles that we had not expected”.

The legislator is called upon

According to Dreger, the BNetzA went as far as it could with the impulse paper. The decision-making chambers of the Federal Network Agency are independent. “We are not allowed to prejudge them,” explained Dreger in Cologne. The BNetzA is a subordinate authority. Many of the questions that are now being asked would have to be answered by the legislator.

Franziska Löw, on the other hand, takes a completely different view. “The BNetzA is not making full use of its scope for action,” criticized the Head of Regulation at the broadband association Anga. “It is a mystery to me how a consensus is to be reached in our market situation.”

Löw referred to a study by the Anga broadband association, according to which it would only be more profitable for Deutsche Telekom to continue operating at a utilization rate of less than 20 percent. “The study shows very clearly that the continued marketing of DSL connections inhibits the migration of customers to modern networks,” said Löw in Cologne. Therefore, the moderating role of the Federal Network Agency is not enough for her. She would have liked to see more courageous intervention.

Too early for concrete regulations?

A change in the law is not necessary, said Löw, only the will to use the existing tools. The Telecommunications Act (TKG) regulates the procedures for switching off copper networks. Here too, Dreger referred to the decision chambers of the BNetzA, which decide on these procedures. She also warned against making regulations too early. “It is a very dynamic market,” said Dreger.

The copper-glass migration is therefore coming a little early for Germany because the framework conditions are not yet in place. At Anga Com, Cara Schwarz-Schilling, Managing Director of the WIK Institute, referred to the experiences of other EU countries that have already made this transition or are in the process of doing so. These countries have made early arrangements for the transition to fiber optics.

For the copper-glass migration in this country, she recommended one thing above all: transparency. And: “The migration can only take place if there is competition on the fiber optic networks,” said Schwarz-Schilling. The network operators would have to hurry with their cooperations. “Otherwise they will never get the networks full,” warned Schwarz-Schilling.

(mho)