• VATM, BREKO and ANGA want EU telecom regulation to remain tied to actual market power, with national regulators retaining room to intervene
  • The groups also support a predictable, non-discriminatory copper-to-fibre transition as the Digital Networks Act moves through the legislative process

The fact

German telecom associations VATM, BREKO and ANGA called on the European Commission on 15 September to make fair competition a central principle of European digital policy. They argued that regulation under the proposed Digital Networks Act should continue to reflect actual market power rather than apply the same obligations to all network builders.

The groups also backed a predictable, non-discriminatory transition from copper to fibre. The Commission's Digital Networks Act proposal retains regulation for operators with significant market power and provides for national fibre-transition plans. The associations' statement is an advocacy position within that legislative process, not a regulatory decision.

The assessment

The practical issue is where regulatory obligations fall as copper networks are retired and fibre becomes the main fixed-access infrastructure. VATM, BREKO and ANGA want national regulators to retain stronger remedies for operators with significant market power without automatically placing the same burden on competing network builders.

That distinction matters before capital is committed. Fibre builders need to know what wholesale-access or migration obligations may apply to their networks, while incumbent operators need clarity on how existing remedies change as customers move from copper to fibre.

For BTW readers, access and migration rules can enter the investment case before construction begins because they affect who may use a network and under what conditions. The final Digital Networks Act will therefore matter not simply for competition policy, but for the operating terms attached to new fibre infrastructure.

What to watch

Watch amendments to the Digital Networks Act covering significant market power, national regulatory discretion and copper switch-off. The clearest test will be whether access obligations remain concentrated on operators with market power or extend more broadly across fibre builders.