04 Mai One year Federal Minister for Digital Affairs: Wildberger faces key test with Telecommunications Act reform
Berlin, 04.05.2026. One year after the launch of Germany’s first Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs, VATM draws a clear interim conclusion: Karsten Wildberger has identified the key challenges facing Germany’s digital transformation — and is taking action to address them. This has been long overdue. The decisive question now is whether the government’s second year will deliver reliable framework conditions for investment, competition and network expansion.
“Germany’s digital transformation is not progressing at seven-league speed, but the first Federal Minister for Digital Affairs is addressing the country’s most pressing shortcomings,” said VATM President Valentina Daiber. “The fact that the newly established ministry is focusing primarily on implementation, project management and KPIs clearly reflects the approach of a minister who comes from the business world rather than the traditional political establishment.”
The first few months, however, also brought a number of “low-hanging fruits”. One example is the designation of telecommunications rollout as an overriding public interest, which was adopted swiftly in Berlin but has yet to translate into tangible progress on the ground. Reducing bureaucracy and modernising public administration remain major challenges. These issues cannot be solved by ministerial declarations alone. Federal, state and local authorities must work together to deliver — particularly when it comes to approvals, procedures and practical implementation at local level, the Association’s President emphasised.
The amendment to the Telecommunications Act (TKG) will become the key test for the ministry, as it will play a decisive role in the future expansion of fibre-optic networks and the level of competition in Germany. “What matters here are clear and reliable rules in the detail. In particular, strong asymmetric regulation of the dominant market player and effective open access are essential to ensuring competition in the future,” Daiber emphasises. “Anyone seeking to encourage private investment must therefore provide clear, fair and reliable framework conditions, while strengthening competition as a key element of the market.”
VATM is critical of the current status of the planned Memorandum of Understanding for high-speed networks, and particularly the revision of the Telecommunications Act. “When it comes to balancing the interests of competition and network expansion, the VATM stands ready to support the ministry as a constructive sparring partner,” says the VATM President. “A clear and binding framework is needed to drive forward the expansion of fibre-optic networks in Germany.”
