BERLIN, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The regulation of fiber optic networks in Germany should be "limited to the absolute minimum necessity," according to a draft document published by the German network agency (Bundesnetzagentur) on Monday.
Limiting regulations would make it "more attractive" for telecommunications companies to cooperate and negotiate price models, noted the agency.
The Bundesnetzagentur is hoping that "the potential of private investment can be exploited" through limiting regulations.
"If non-discriminatory access for competitors is guaranteed, we can limit ourselves to "light" regulation," said Jochen Homann, president of the Bundesnetzagentur.
The German network agency conducted an analysis and presented a definition of the market for "last mile" access, which included the direct connection of households to the fiber-optic network in Germany.
Part of the agency's work involved determining which products make up a market and how the market was to be defined geographically.
The market analysis showed that the technologies commonly used in the fixed network sector in Germany were "interchangeable".
Copper, optical fiber and cable as well as all bandwidths were "therefore part of a product market," said the agency.
The Bundesnetzagentur found, however, that the conditions of competition differed within the product market between copper and high performance fiber networks across Germany.
"Fiber optic networks do not have to be subject to ex-ante regulation as detailed as copper networks" and therefore needed different regulatory obligations, said the Bundesnetzagentur.
The agency also pointed out that German telecommunication giant Telekom "still has significant market power" and continued to possess "a high market share and pronounced scope for behavior and pricing."
Although cable network operators in Germany "have significantly improved their position on the retail market," only around two thirds of German households were located in an area covered by fiber networks, the Bundesnetzagentur added.
According to the German coalition government agreement, Germany should rise "to the top of the world in the field of digital infrastructure." "Fiber optics in every region and every community, as close as possible to the house," should be in place nationwide by 2025.
