Overview
- The Bundesnetzagentur’s concept would allow copper switch‑offs in areas where at least 80% of households and businesses have fiber-to-the-home available.
- Local shutdowns could proceed only if competitors provide non‑discriminatory open access to their fiber networks, regardless of who built them.
- Consumers would receive notice three years before a cutoff, and sales of copper-based connections would end at least 24 months in advance.
- The paper would end Deutsche Telekom’s sole ability to trigger migration by letting rivals or the regulator initiate the process in qualifying regions.
- Industry can submit comments until March 16, 2026, legislation is still needed, and first local shutdowns are projected around 2030 if a law is passed in 2027, with about 23 million lines still on DSL and fiber coverage uneven.