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A state secretary in the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport is said to have given Deutsche Telekom preferential treatment when it came to fiber optic expansion, reports Daily Mirror. Because the Bonn-based group did not have to submit any data, it was more difficult to prove that there was an abuse of market power.
The case concerns the monitoring report on the strategic superstructure. The accusation is that Telekom is planning or announcing fiber optic projects in places where competitors are already active. Their expansion plans should be slowed down as much as possible. The Federal Network Agency wanted to investigate to what extent this was systematic abuse.
As can be seen from internal documents from the Federal Network Agency, which the Daily Mirror after a request via the Freedom of Information Act, State Secretary Stefan Schnorr in particular is said to have supported Telekom. The Federal Network Agency originally wanted to publish a much more critical report. However, the first drafts were defused, among other things because, according to a conversation note, Schnorr had concerns that the Federal Network Agency would “to the pillory” place.
Another transcript also states that many allegations were able to be refuted. However, the Federal Network Agency’s investigation initially went in a different direction; the regulatory authority also wanted to request further data with a formal request for information in order to examine the allegations. Schnorr is also said to have prevented this data retrieval, it says Daily Mirror.
Telekom competitors criticize interventions from the Digital Ministry
Competitors criticize the political influence. “In this way, the (Federal Digital Ministry) protects the interests of Telekom, in which the federal government still has a direct and indirect stake of almost 28 percent“ says a joint press release from the associations Anga, Breko, VATM and VKU. In this way, Telekom can continue the fiber optic expansion and further slow down the nationwide fiber optic expansion.
The Federal Network Agency is now requesting a formal request for information that Telekom must be obliged to confidentially deposit its fiber optic expansion plans with the Federal Network Agency. In this way, the Federal Network Agency can quickly and reliably determine whether and in which cases Telekom has abused its market power to displace competitors through strategic double expansion.
The ministry speaks of a normal process
The Federal Digital Ministry is currently trying to calm the situation. That the department cooperates with the Federal Network Agency “coordinated on several occasions and at different levels“It was by no means unusual in the context of technical supervision,” said a spokesman Heise Online. It often happens that designs are adapted.
The interim report published by the monitoring body to date provided evidence of a market failure in fiber optic expansion. But no consequences have been drawn yet. The Federal Digital Ministry explains in the statement Heise Onlinethat a double expansion is basically not a problem at first. In densely populated areas, two or even more fiber optic networks could be operated economically.
Telekom itself has always denied the allegations. The group describes the incidents as part of normal competition.
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