26 Juni Adoption of the Telecommunications Amendment Act 2025 paves the way for a faster network roll-out
Berlin, 26 June 2025. Digitalisation must be fast. The new German administration swiftly discussed and approved the TKG amendment today, one of the key infrastructure expansion acceleration projects in the Bundestag.
The VATM expressly welcomes the fact that the so-called ‘overriding public interest’ in the roll-out of telecommunications networks has finally been legally recognised and established – for both fibre-optic and mobile networks. “The federal government, led by Federal Digital Minister Dr Karsten Wildberger, has sent a clear and strong signal for Germany’s digital future,” emphasises VATM Managing Director Dr Frederic Ufer. “The law is a necessary breakthrough for the rapid roll-out of digital infrastructure – especially in rural areas.” The new regulation, which the industry has been waiting for years, creates the conditions for more efficient approval procedures and removes long-standing planning obstacles – for example in nature conservation and heritage protection. Remote areas, especially in conservation regions, could be developed more quickly and easily in future. This is an important step towards nationwide high-speed digital infrastructure.
“Planning and approval procedures must now be quicker and unnecessary bureaucracy must be reduced,” insists Gerrit Wernke, head of the VATM’s capital office. The numerous different regulations and procedures across Germany’s 16 federal states remain a significant obstacle to rapid roll-out. “Initial statements from federal states like North Rhine-Westphalia, which favour nationwide standardisation of approval processes, give reason for hope,” says Wernke. “Less federalism and more harmonisation in the digital transformation – this would be a seven-mile step for Germany and is one of the central tasks of the minister presidents and their state governments.” VATM Managing Director is urging the Bundesrat to approve the TKG amendment on 11 July. “The federal states themselves have long emphasised the public importance of expanding telecommunications infrastructure. Now the Bundesrat must do its part to give digitalisation the necessary push forward.”
