As part of the extension of frequency usage rights, the Federal Network Agency required mobile network operators to ensure nationwide coverage of 99.5% with mobile services by 2030. The more comprehensive such coverage obligations are, the less mobile network operators can differentiate themselves in the market through different geographical coverage strategies. In this regard, such coverage obligations could conflict with infrastructure competition.
Since mobile communications technologies meet the technical requirements of the Telecommunications Minimum Supply Ordinance (TKMV), there is interest in using forecasts to determine at which addresses the data transfer rates specified in the TKMV are likely to be available. This study analyzes network parameters and existing data that could be used to forecast service and coverage quality.
The study shows that the German mobile communications market is characterized by infrastructure competition. For mobile network operators with a small market share in rural areas, the coverage obligation provides an incentive to increase competition in these regions. The objectives of infrastructure competition and coverage obligations therefore do not have to be contradictory.
With regard to the TKMV, the mobile communications network can contribute to ensure basic service provisions. Actual suitability depends on available capacity, the number of users per cell, and potential prioritization instruments. However, the data currently available on quality parameters in mobile networks is neither harmonized nor methodologically consistent. This makes it difficult to reliably assess the performance of mobile communications. A reliable forecast would therefore require a standardized measurement and data concept that combines network parameters and usage-based measurements.
