The current charge of EUR 10.08 expires at the end of June, and the new rate would apply for three years, with an option for another three-year extension. Deutsche Telekom said the latest review of the rates provides an opportunity to create a "stable" investment environment for the long term.
"We are taking European Commissioner Neelie Kroes at her word and expect specific incentives for us to invest billions of euros," said Niek Jan van Damme, head of Telekom's business activities in Germany, in a statement. Kroes proposed last year that incumbent operators could be offered more "flexible" conditions for last mile pricing, including possible price increases, in order to encourage investment in new networks and in exchange for improving equal access conditions.
The revised German Telecommunications Act also allows flexibility, to take into consideration the costs of voluntary redundancy programs and the employee placement company Vivento in ULL charges, DT said. The operator noted as well that other providers that have invested in new network infrastructure have also called for stable ULL charges, such as the cable network operators and the members of BUGLAS (city network operators such as Netcologne and M-Net).
The Federal Networks Agency has continuously cut ULL charges since 1999, from EUR 12.98 to the current level of EUR 10.08; Telekom has consistently applied for higher charges in view of its costs. Deutsche Telekom currently leases out around 9.5 million ULLs. For the shorter ULL CD, the section of line between the cable distribution box (CD) on the street and the connection in the home, Deutsche Telekom has applied for a charge of EUR 8.80 per month, up from the current EUR 7.17.
