Telekom’s Vectoring plan approved by FNA

Germany’s Federal Network Agency (FNA) has approved a EUR1 billion (USD1.1 billion) plan by Deutsche Telekom (DT), which provides fixed and mobile services under the brand Telekom Deutschland, to upgrade its copper lines with Vectoring technology, Reuters reports. In a draft decision, the watchdog said that its approval of the plan was conditional on DT giving its competitors access to the technology, although the Bonn-based telco can deny access in areas where alternative networks are already available. Vectoring can only be installed by one operator in each street cabinet, following which the new infrastructure can be used by all operators. Earlier in February, DT unveiled plans to roll out VDSL Vectoring to an additional 5.9 million homes by 2018, increasing coverage to around 80% of German homes. Customers in the areas upgraded with VDSL Vectoring technology are able to access maximum speeds of 100Mbps download and 40Mbps upload.