Deutsche Telekom, which provides fixed and mobile services in Germany via its Telekom Deutschland unit, has agreed to open up its fibre-optic network to competitors on a long-term basis. The telco has announced it has extended its long-standing fixed broadband network (VDSL and vectoring) collaboration deal with Telefonica Deutschland for a further ten years, but the new agreement will also include use of its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network for the first time. Telekom’s VDSL network currently reaches around 33 million households in Germany, while approximately 1.8 million homes are equipped with FTTH lines.
‘This is a pioneering deal for the buildout of the fibre-optic infrastructure in Germany for the next decade, based on a voluntary commercial agreement between two large market players from which many people and companies in Germany will benefit,’ noted Telekom Deutschland CEO Dirk Wossner, adding: ‘Deutsche Telekom stands for open networks and cooperations. And we are emphasising this with this wide-reaching cooperation agreement. This contract will secure the utilisation of our broadband network. And we will receive financial resources that we will reinvest in our networks.’