The German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) said that Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone have met the obligations to supply households, as stipulated in the spectrum auction of 2015, according to their own statements. The Bundesnetzagentur will verify their statements.
The requirements were among the conditions of the auction of frequencies in the 700 MHz, 900 MHz, 1500 MHz and 1800 MHz ranges that ended in June 2015. The frequencies in the 700 MHz range have been fully available since mid-2019.
Telefonica has missed the coverage requirements so far, but expects to meet them by the end of this year. According to the operator, the main traffic routes could not yet be fully served. Telefonica blamed the delay on obstacles to renting locations to build mobile sites, obtaining building permits, and additional problems with building sites because of preservation orders and natural and environmental protection rules.
In its statement, Telefonica referred to different legal views on the content of the coverage requirements, too, which are the subject of ongoing legal proceedings. However, it plans to meet the supply requirements through an additional 7,600 mobile sites this year.
