27 Mai Cologne court ruling: Telekom likely to cause major delays to fibre optic rollout
The federal government should strengthen the legal enforcement of key information rights for access to publicly funded empty conduits.
Cologne, 27 May 2025. The ruling just published by the Cologne Administrative Court (ref. 1 K 771/24) regarding subsidised access to empty conduits (in dispute resolution proceedings ref. BK11-23/009) could severely restrict non-discriminatory, open access to publicly subsidised telecommunications networks. It allows Telekom to delay competitors‘ use of existing infrastructure. Up to now, information and access to empty ducts have been provided together. From now on, Telekom can first share the information and grant access separately at a later stage. This process can take a long time, which is almost like saying no to giving access to empty conduits.
“This is an unnecessary setback for fibre optic expansion in Germany,” emphasises VATM Managing Director, Dr Frederic Ufer. “The empty conduit infrastructure, paid for with public money, as well as Telekom’s existing empty conduits, unused for decades, are an important way to quickly and easily expand fibre optic cables without having to repeatedly dig up roads.”
Following a complaint from competitors in 2023, the Federal Network Agency ruled that Telekom was obliged to grant open network access to empty conduits laid as part of the subsidised broadband expansion. The Federal Network Agency’s interpretation of the law was that the right to information on the relevant cable routes and the right of access could be asserted efficiently in a single procedure. Telekom appealed against the regulatory authority’s decision in the Administrative Court in Cologne. However, the court has now ruled that information about existing routes and requested access must be asserted in separate proceedings before different courts. For the competitors who are primarily responsible for fibre optic expansion in Germany, this means that in future, every company will have to request the necessary information and access to empty conduits in individual proceedings. Exactly how this is to be done remains unclear. “Because German courts are overloaded, one can imagine how long such legal proceedings will take, not to mention the additional costs. The rapid expansion of fibre optics has clearly been undermined by the Administrative Court,” says Ufer.
This makes it very important to make sure that people can easily get the information and network access that they need. „The new Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs must establish the necessary framework conditions as soon as possible. In the upcoming amendments to the Telecommunications Act (TKG), non-discriminatory, open access to publicly funded telecommunications networks must be guaranteed to support fast rollout.
The latest telecommunications market analysis published by VATM at the end of April clearly shows that Germany is still a long way from achieving nationwide fibre optic coverage. Even optimistic models predict that only just under 15 million FTTB/H connections (homes activated) will be available by the end of 2030.
“If no action is taken quickly to expand the fibre optic infrastructure, we will fall further behind internationally.” warns the managing director. This includes Telekom’s empty conduits, which lie unused in the ground, wasting their potential and failing to serve the public. “All companies involved in expansion must be able to access this infrastructure quickly and easily.”
