Overview
- Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger gathered about 32 organizations and secured agreement to negotiate concrete targets for a memorandum called "Bestes Netz für Deutschland" to be finalized in the first quarter of 2026.
- Wildberger pushed for "Homes Activated" to serve as the key metric, while some participants argued for targets tied to DSL switch-offs, and companies welcomed the move to hold regular talks.
- The ministry expects a full shutdown of copper-based DSL between 2035 and 2040 under current conditions, with Bundesnetzagentur guidance indicating TV-cable internet is not part of the planned switch-off.
- Industry data cited in the talks projects by end-2025 roughly 54% of households passively reached by fibre, about 22% of buildings connected, and around 6 million active fibre subscriptions, highlighting the adoption gap.
- Industry groups BREKO and VATM backed the dialogue but called for strong competition safeguards by BNetzA, clear migration rules, streamlined oversight, and noted that three states—Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern, Bremen and Niedersachsen—were absent from the meeting.