02 März TKG Amendment: Prioritizing the Copper Phase-Out and More Competition – With Caution
Berlin, 2 March 2026. The draft bill on the amendment to the Telecommunications Act (TKG) presented today by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs outlines key guidelines for the further roll-out of fibre-optic and mobile networks and the migration to the new networks – featuring the right approaches but requiring significant further work on key aspects.
The VATM welcomes many long-awaited improvements to the regulatory framework and, above all, the clear signal towards a faster and more transparent phase-out of old networks, but warns against regulation that would significantly restrict a sovereign, competition-driven market and slow down the momentum of investment.
“With this amendment, the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs clearly aims to drive digitalisation forward,” emphasises VATM President Valentina Daiber. “This can only succeed if competition is strengthened and its potential is not restricted. Investments running into the billions, which the expansion of the fibre-optic network continues to require, can only be realised through clear rules and fair market opportunities.”
Copper-to-fibre migration is finally becoming more predictable – a long-overdue step
For years, competitors have been serving more than twice as many fibre-optic customers as Telekom on their networks. The VATM therefore considers it a long-overdue step that this expansion capacity must be taken into account when switching off the old copper networks, and that Telekom must be prevented from employing delaying tactics regarding the DSL switch-off.
“The Telecommunications Act must reflect market realities. It is therefore right that, with the planned amendment, the regulatory authority now has a clear mandate to scrutinise behaviour that harms competition. The Federal Network Agency must now make use of this opportunity,” said the President, reminding us that Germany is on the cusp of the decisive phase of the largest infrastructure project of the last decades.
“The future of fibre-optic networks must finally be reliably predictable – and customers must understand what is happening and when. The fact that the Federal Network Agency will in future be able to require market-dominant companies to provide a transparent migration path is a real step forward.”
Another key factor for acceptance – and thus the uptake of the new networks – is freedom of choice regarding providers, tariffs and services. To ensure that the willingness to switch grows more rapidly than before, seamless access to the networks by service providers – particularly the major nationwide access seekers – is essential. “This must be clearly regulated in the amendment,” demands Daiber.
Symmetric regulation must not become a straitjacket for the market
The VATM takes an extremely critical view of the planned extension of symmetric regulation, i.e. obligations that apply to all providers. Under this, the Federal Network Agency is to establish ‘guidelines’ for a mandatory negotiation process between telecoms companies – including fee benchmarks – through a uniform nationwide procedure. In the association’s view, this is hardly appropriate in its current form and undermines well-functioning open-access models in the market. Furthermore, this blanket regulation carries the risk of over-regulating market conditions and crowding out market-based solutions rather than facilitating them.
“Competition doesn’t follow a set formula,” warns VATM Managing Director Dr. Frederic Ufer. “The risk that competition will cease to exist is inherent in the proposed symmetric regulation.” Rather than enabling further investment in the market, such regulation would stifle it. “Here, the draft bill has overshot its mark. Instead of a symmetrical approach, what is needed is effective, market-power-based ex-ante regulation and consistent oversight of abuse that strengthens the position of nationwide access seekers without devaluing investments.”
In addition, the association points out that voluntary open-access models are evolving dynamically in the market: A steadily growing number of alternative network operators are opening their networks through contracts and ensuring greater provider choice—not because of regulatory pressure, but because it is economically necessary to increase utilization and facilitate refinancing, and above all, because customers expect it.
Full Deployment Rights – Avoiding Misaligned Incentives, Preventing Strategic Distortions in Deployment
A statutory right to full deployment offers the opportunity to prevent uneconomical, piecemeal deployments in individual apartments and to make the overall deployment more efficient. “We welcome the fact that network operators now have the opportunity to install fiber-optic-ready infrastructure throughout an owner’s entire building,” said Ufer. A reliable access regime for in-building cabling must simultaneously prevent economically nonsensical in-building overbuilding and must not jeopardize either investments or existing contractual relationships.
The Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs aims to accelerate both fiber-optic and mobile network expansion. “An important step toward high-performance mobile networks is the straightforward connection of mobile towers to the power grids and transparency regarding the new Gigabit Land Registry for the expansion. The draft places the right emphasis here,” emphasizes Daiber.
Consistently Punish Abuse
The VATM has repeatedly called for more vigorous action against Telekom, which continues to hold market dominance. To this end, the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) must be equipped by the legislature with the necessary tools to counter this and make regulation more effective. We welcome the inclusion of even past acts of abuse among the offenses punishable under the Telecommunications Act (TKG), a direct response to the BNetzA’s inability to address Telekom’s strategic overreach.The VATM expressly welcomes this forward-looking and at the same time pragmatic commitment, especially since it is clearly supported by the Federal Network Agency, and will constructively accompany the parliamentary process.
The VATM expressly welcomes this forward-looking and pragmatic initiative, particularly since it is clearly supported by the Federal Network Agency, and will engage constructively in the parliamentary process.
