Overview
- The Federal Administrative Court rejected the regulator’s non-admission appeal, making the Cologne decision final and requiring a fresh decision on the auction framework.
- Bundesnetzagentur president Klaus Müller said the 5G frequency procedure will be reworked quickly, while current licence allocations remain valid until any changes are made.
- The dispute centers on the absence of a mandated wholesale access obligation for MVNOs, which plaintiffs Freenet and EWE Tel argued disadvantaged smaller providers.
- Freenet welcomed the outcome and urged competition-protecting measures in any new terms to strengthen virtual operators’ access to 5G networks.
- The 2019 auction raised roughly €6.55–€6.6 billion from Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Telefónica and 1&1, and observers say a full re-auction is possible but considered unlikely.