Well, Viviane Reding, European Commissioner, warned the German government months ago that if they let Deutsche Telekom keep competitors out of their fiber network they’re deploying, the Commission would take Germany to court. And she’s kept her word.It’s not surprising that the European Commission filed a lawsuit against Germany in the European Court of Justice on grounds that Germany must force Deutsche Telekom to share its fiber network, not pass laws to keep out competition. The tension between Germany and the Commission had been building in the past few months.
Deutsche Telekom says it needs to keep competitors out to get a return on its investment in “new information services” but Viviane Reding says there’ s nothing new at all about DT’s planned fiber network and the services that would run on it as they are old stuff like TV and telephony. It’s the same old monopoly at work, unfortunately, supported by a government that still believes in “national champions”.
If, however, Deutsche Telekom’s network could actually teleport people like the USS Enterprise’s transport deck on Star Trek, then Deutsche Telekom might have a point. Now that would be a “new” service. But DT’s offerings will be nothing more than good old TV and I’m sure filled with the same old junk.
Read these articles I posted recently about the EU’s struggle with Deutsche Telekom and national regulators who still don’t get it:
(1) EU opens investigation into Amsterdam fiber; will take action against Germany
(2) Bad news for European broadband: Germany takes over EU presidency (but only for half a year, thank heavens)
(3) EU says telecom incumbents have too much control
(4) EU needs independent telecoms regulator
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