The European Commission (EC) has opened an investigation into the setting of fixed termination rates (FTRs) by the Federal Network Agency (FNA, also known as Bundesnetzagentur or BNetzA), stating that the German telecoms regulator does not follow the European Union (EU) recommended approach for calculating the fees. In August 2013 the EC criticised the FNA’s proposal for calculating FTRs for incumbent telecoms operator Telekom Deutschland (TD) and sent a recommendation to the German regulator to amend its pricing approach and to use the method set out in telecoms rules. However, Brussels states that the FNA’s new proposal – which defines FTRs for TD that should apply for two years from 1 December 2014 – is still not satisfactory, and as such the EC has launched an investigation into the matter.
The Commission now has three months to discuss the case with the FNA, in cooperation with the Body of European Telecoms Regulators (BEREC), to make it compliant with EU law. The EC may, at the end of the investigation period, either lift its reservations or demand that Germany withdraws or amends the proposed measure.