Regarding the current draft act to amend the German Telecommunications Act (TKG), eco – Association of the Internet Industry states: The draft act contains important measures for faster fibre optic and mobile communications expansion, but falls short of the requirements of a genuine acceleration act on key points.
“The draft act sends the right signals, but stops halfway,” says eco Board member Klaus Landefeld. “Anyone wishing to accelerate network expansion must not simultaneously introduce new data obligations, unclear procedures and additional bureaucracy.”
eco welcomes the simplification of road-related procedures, the new notification procedure, improved participation rules along railway lines and enhanced access to energy infrastructure for mobile communications expansion. These points address key demands of the Internet industry.
“We are heading in the right direction where procedures are simplified, deadlines shortened and infrastructure access made more practical,” says Landefeld. “However, an acceleration act will only become a real booster if the rules actually speed things up in practice.”
eco is critical of the fact that the notification procedure is not being consistently designed as the standard procedure. The proposed one-month deadline, additional documentation requirements and unclear exclusions threaten to significantly narrow the scope of application. eco is calling for a two-week deadline, the removal of unnecessary evidence requirements and a broader scope of application.
“A notification procedure that only takes effect after a month and is slowed down by new verification requirements is no breakthrough,” says Landefeld. “Two weeks must be enough. Anything else is the old approval model with a new label.”
eco also sees room for improvement regarding the Gigabit Register. Whilst the draft act restructures information obligations, it simultaneously expands data requirements. Particularly problematic are details that are difficult to collect reliably, such as information on network availability in buildings, vehicles and trains.
“The Gigabit Register must not become a bureaucratic register,” warns Landefeld. “Data that companies have to provide at great expense, without actually accelerating the rollout, helps neither consumers nor Germany as a business location.”
The association also responded cautiously to the revision of Section 165 of the German Telecommunications Act (TKG), which provides for certification obligations for telecommunications network operators regarding components in the core network. The most recent draft act now provides the German Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) with a general power to issue administrative orders concerning the certification of components. “We are currently analysing the potential implications of the amended Section 165 of the German Telecommunications Act (TKG). The security and trustworthiness of networks are important, and the existing approaches, based on dialogue between the BNetzA and the telecommunications industry, have so far proved workable. However, in its current draft of a Security Catalogue, the German Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) proposes extending certification requirements to components beyond the core network; this is underpinned by the broad power to issue general administrative orders provided for here. A unilateral prohibition without prior dialogue could, however, prove problematic and also interferes with companies’ property rights,” explained Landefeld.
It is also right and important to address access to buildings for the rollout of local fibre optic networks, as this is where we expect the greatest obstacles to providing households with fibre optic connections in the coming years. However, it is doubtful whether the proposed rollout periods, which extend over several years, will create the immediate sense of urgency that is needed. The effectiveness of this measure in its proposed form should therefore be reviewed regularly.
Klaus Landefeld concluded: “The draft act is a step in the right direction, but not yet a decisive breakthrough. The German federal government must now turn a sound draft act into a genuine acceleration act: less bureaucracy, clearer procedures and greater investment certainty.”
