Frequency allocation in mobile communications - stimulating innovation - comments of the Bundeskartellamt

In its comments on the award of mobile frequencies published today the Bundeskartellamt said it would appreciate it if the Federal Network Agency focussed on pro-competitive instruments in its upcoming decisions.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: “Developments on the mobile communications market are key to becoming a gigabit society. Competition and investment go hand in hand in this respect. While we obviously need an environment that promotes investment, competition is an equally important factor. Competition is a key driver of innovative services to support the digital transformation of the economy. Already today third-party providers are developing innovative applications for the Internet of Things, machine-to-machine communication (M2M) or autonomous driving. These providers need network access for their innovative power to flourish. The competition that develops as a result of this innovation allows us to promote new technologies and products for Industry 4.0. Additionally, only a competitive environment ensures that consumers obtain attractive products at reasonable prices.”

The Federal Network Agency is currently preparing its award of frequencies (5G) for the next generation of mobile telecommunications networks and is discussing several relevant areas of activity, e.g. the obligation to grant national roaming to newcomers and access to third-party providers. According to the Bundeskartellamt, a fourth network operator entering the market during the auction would be desirable for competition in the mobile communications market. The authority also said it was highly relevant for competition that service providers and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) be granted or retain their claim to appropriate and non-discriminatory access to mobile communications networks. Corresponding access fees which would ensure that third-party providers contribute to the frequency and expansion costs would be a permanent incentive to invest for incumbent mobile network operators.

The Bundeskartellamt has received several complaints from third-party providers about a lack of effective access to the mobile communications network. The fact that the availability of LTE in Germany is comparatively low shows that it is very difficult to provide a sufficient degree of access for third-party providers to the latest technological standards.

Click here to read the comments (in German).

The Bundeskartellamt had already published comments in 2016 (in German)