The amendment to the Telecommunications Act (TKG) should provide impetus for investment incentives in gigabit networks and strengthen competition between network operators and service providers. State intervention should be limited to what is strictly necessary. It remains particularly important that private-sector investment takes precedence over state funding and over the state taking on tasks.
At a glance
The Telecommunications Act (TKG) of 2004 is to be fundamentally overhauled by the planned Telecommunications Modernisation Act (TKMoG). The reason for this is the transposition of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) into national law. The aim of this reform should be to support network roll-out through competition-oriented regulation and to generate incentives for investment.
- State support for network roll-out should prioritise ‘white spots’ initially and then ‘grey spots’, so as to ensure that commercially viable network roll-out remains the priority. The universal service obligation should only be used as a last resort.
- The effectiveness of commitments should be ensured by making it possible to impose fines in the event of breaches.
- To promote infrastructure competition, access to physical infrastructure should be facilitated.
- Appropriate and differentiated implementation deadlines should apply to regulations that entail significant technical implementation costs.
