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1&1 wants to sue BNetzA for not auctioning frequencies, activating 5 masts everyday and not planning on being acquired by Telefonica
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CEO Ralph Dommermuth said they are planning to sue BNetzA for not auctioning frequencies.
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He pointed out that network expansion is going on well and that they are activating 5 masts everyday.
“We are exceeding the requirements of the Federal Network Agency. At the turn of the year, we had reached over 27 percent of households – the target was 25 percent. Network expansion is progressing rapidly; we are putting five new masts into operation every day.”
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He said they are not considering selling 1&1 to Telefonica but could see themselves buying Telefonica.
“I’m not considering that. My team and I have faced a difficult journey in recent years, dealing with regulatory proceedings, lawsuits, antitrust violations by our competitors, and setbacks in network expansion. We decided to build the most modern network in Europe. And we’re going to see it through.”
“If Telefónica wants to withdraw, we’ll certainly look into it. But to my knowledge, such a move isn’t currently planned.”
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He said the promotional offer of ten euros for unlimited data (seen last year) is no longer valid but in the discount segment it’s common to have 20 GB for 4.99 euros.
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Dommermuth considers the current sovereignty debate deceptive since the balance of power continues to shift to the U.S..
“Anyone who believes European providers can replace the US players is deluding themselves,” he said. " Ionos offers applications that are well-suited to many requirements, but it doesn’t have the same breadth of offerings as Amazon & Co," he added.
Assessment
The fact that they want to sue BNetzA signals that negotiations with incumbents is not going well. 5 active sites per day implies 110 actives per month and 330 per quarter (assuming 22 working days per month). In my opinion, addition of 1,300 active sites per year is not that bad, especially since they are high-performing masts.