Telefonica Deutschland’s CEO Markus Haas has called for EU regulators to block Vodafone Group’s planned EUR19.0 billion (USD21.8 billion) acquisition of Liberty Global’s assets in Europe. ‘This takeover would mean the end of competition in the cable market and in the fixed broadband network,’ Reuters cited a statement from Haas as saying. ‘We must not allow a quasi-monopolisation of important parts of the infrastructure, which is of decisive importance for the economic future of Germany, to take place.’ In May Liberty Global agreed to sell its operations in Germany, Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic to UK-based Vodafone Group and the pair reportedly filed for EU antitrust approval for the deal last week. Brussels has set a 27 November deadline for its review of the transaction.
In a separate development, Telefonica Deutschland and Vodafone have enabled HD Voice calling between their 2G, 3G and 4G mobile networks, as well as via VoWiFi. To access the enhanced voice service, both parties need an HD Voice-enabled device.