Deutsche Telekom previously said it would play nice with competitors that wanted to connect to its VDSL network, but apparently the German incumbent is playing hardball. A report emerged that the German Competitive Carriers Association (VATM) and the German broadband providers association Breko could not strike a deal with DT to use its VDSL network.
Breko CEO Dr. Stephan Albers and VATM CEO Juergen Grutzner said that the German incumbent was uncooperative. To resolve the network access issue, the two organizations asked the Federal Network Agency (FNA), Germany's network regulator, to craft a plan that would provide competitors with fair network access prices and rewards for those service providers that build new broadband networks.
Service providers that want to provide their own VDSL service need to get an agreement to gain access to DT's network. An inability to come to an agreement with Breko and VATM comes in slight contrast to DT previous efforts to open its VDSL network to competitors. Last March, the German incumbent telco voluntarily opened its VDSL network initially to any competitor for $38 per line. Interestingly, Vodafone Germany struck a wholesale access deal with DT in July to build two pilot VDSL networks.
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