At the end of 2019, the Federal Cartel Office approved a joint venture between EWE and Deutsche Telekom for fiber optic expansion in northwest Germany. Now it has been lifted.
In the dispute over the fiber optic expansion in northwest Germany, the regional provider EWE and Deutsche Telekom have to accept a setback.
The Bundeskartellamt had approved a joint venture between the two companies at the end of 2019 – their alliance put pressure on the competition. After a complaint from Vodafone and the company Deutsche Glasfaser, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court lifted the approval of the Cartel Office on Wednesday. From the point of view of the court, the reasons for the release at the time were “unsustainable”. (File number: VI-Kart 5/20 V)
The decision is a damper for Telekom and EWE, but not the end. Because it is considered certain that the case will land before the Federal Court of Justice – in the form of a so-called non-admission complaint. If this project fails and the judgment becomes final, the Cartel Office would have five months to make a new decision. It would be possible that the Bonn authority would also say yes in the second attempt, but would demand stronger obligations from EWE and Telekom. It is also possible that a no will come from Bonn after all.
It is about the EWE market area, so mainly about large parts of Lower Saxony – an area north of Osnabrück to the gates of Hamburg. It is also about parts of northern NRW. The requirements of the Cartel Office from 2019 stipulate that the joint venture Glasfaser Nordwest allows competitors to access its network. In addition, quite high investments have to be made. These concessions could not appease the competitors – they went to court and prevailed there for the time being.
A spokesman for the Cartel Office said that the decision was taken “with regret”. According to his authority, the commitments and the competitive guard rails will lead to “improvements in the telecommunications markets in the affected region and also in rural areas”. In response to the ruling, EWE and Telekom made it clear that they would hold on to the joint venture and expand it further. Glasglas Nordwest sent a letter to local authorities stating: “The construction work will be carried out as planned in all expansion areas.”
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