This report explains the significance of the current universal service regime under the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) and the Telecommunications Act (TKG) for the provision of gigabit connections in Germany – both at present and with a view to future developments. The focus is on the question of whether minimum standards for adequate broadband internet access services are being set that can only be met by gigabit or FTTH connections. The legal requirements allow a company to be obliged under the universal service regime to provide such a FTTH connection (universal service provider) if no adequate connection is available at a specific address.
It is shown that the political gigabit target is neither currently nor foreseeably supported by universal service obligations. This would only be possible if the minimum requirements for a broadband connection were defined so high that they could only be met by fibre optics, which is currently neither provided for by regulation nor politically expected. In addition, Article 86(2) of the EEC Treaty prohibits universal service obligations from influencing the commercial or subsidised expansion of FTTH networks.
The analysis highlights the discrepancy between the European gigabit targets and the existing universal service regulation. The latter focuses on affordability and participation and is ineffective in terms of the availability of gigabit connections. Even in the long term, it is unlikely that universal service will be of any significance in Germany once the roll-out of FTTH networks has been largely completed. This, of course, depends on the degree of coverage that is intended to be achieved.
