1&1 News

[Aron]

I=7, October 6
1&1 confident it will achieve 25% coverage at the end of the year but concerned about the ongoing negotiations with the incumbents

• 1&1 recently contacted the head of Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) detailing their network progress.
• 1&1 said in the letter that their network expansion is progressing well and they are confident that they will reach 25% of German households by the end of 2025.
• 1&1 also said that it has migrated more than 98% of its customers to its own network.
• According to Tagesspiegel Background, while 1&1 now operates sufficient number of 5G base stations, it has not met the minimum requirement of base stations in each federal state but BNetzA granted them until the end of 2025 to achieve this goal.
• 1&1 is concerned about the ongoing negotiations with the incumbents regarding the shared use of low-band spectrum, saying negotiations are progressing “very slowly”.

https://background.tagesspiegel.de/digitalisierung-und-ki/briefing/1-1-wendet-sich-an-beirat-der-netzagentur

[Aron]

Telecommunications Industry

I=10 Federal Network Agency loses its appeal over the 2018 auction ruling, says it will promptly restart 5G frequency allocation The Federal Administrative Court rejected the Federal Network Agency’s appeals against Cologne Administrative Court’s judgments of August 26, 2024. The Cologne Administrative Court declared last year that the 2018 5G decision regarding the allocation conditions and auction rules were unlawful and ordered the Federal Network Agency to issue a new decision. Fol…

[Aron]

I=8
1&1 will not face any fine for not meeting the 2022 antenna site obligation, Federal Network Agency announced

• The Federal Network Agency announced that 1&1 will not face any fine for not meeting the 2022 antenna site obligation.
• At the end of 2022, 1&1 had to have constructed 1,000 active antenna sites but did not build any and a fine of EUR 50,000 was on the table (Notion-Fines for not meeting antenna sites target).
• Following the Federal Administrative Court ruling, 1&1 investor relations already said the fines as well as the antenna sites obligations will likely be voided.

https://www.heise.de/news/Netzagentur-gibt-Bussgeldverfahren-gegen-Mobilfunker-1-1-auf-11093675.html

[Aron]

I=9
Vodafone files complaint against Federal Cartel Office, accusing it of favoring 1&1 in its dispute of antenna sites rollout

• Vodafone filed a preventive legal protection with the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf, aiming to stop the Federal Cartel Office from making a decision in Vantage Towers-1&1 dispute.
• Vodafone speculates that Federal Cartel Office’s head, Andreas Mundt, wants to use the proceedings to help 1&1 achieve faster rollout of its network.
• It accuses the Federal Cartel Office of allowing 1&1 to control the proceedings, a claim that both 1&1 and the Federal Cartel Office deny.
• The Federal Cartel Office pointed out that the proceedings are “at an advanced stage,” adding that “whether a decision will be reached is currently still open.”
• In April 2025, the Federal Cartel Office said preliminary findings indicate that Vodafone and its subsidiary, Vantage Towers are liable for the failure by 1&1 to meet its antenna obligations at the end of 2022 and added that it is considering ordering the provision of the relevant sites within three years, with additional measures to follow in mid-2025.
• 1&1 shares up 3.8% while United Internet shares are up 2.8%.

Handelsblatt

Preliminary assessment

Vodafone’s application for preventive legal protection suggests it expects, or at least seriously fears, that the Federal Cartel Office will issue a decision favorable to 1&1 in the abuse proceedings. Such a decision would likely oblige Vantage Towers to grant 1&1 faster or more extensive access to antenna sites, potentially constraining Vodafone’s own rollout strategy.

Commercially, Vodafone also benefits from a slower 1&1 network expansion because it prolongs the economic value of the national roaming agreement. Hence, Vodafone could be indirectly trying to slow 1&1’s progress.

The step nonetheless calls into question the state of the 1&1–Vodafone relationship, especially after 1&1’s reported increase in roaming costs and emerging reports that Telefónica may seek to rekindle its cooperation with 1&1. Telefónica could see an opportunity if regulatory pressure and legal disputes further strain the 1&1–Vodafone partnership.

[Aron]

• Vodafone’s application for preventive legal protection has been described as unusual since the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf (OLG Düsseldorf) normally sets a high bar for granting it.

  “Furthermore, a preventive injunction is only admissible if the affected party can assert that the intended publication of the prohibition order without the redactions requested by him would result in reparable or at least difficult-to-compensate disadvantages for him,” Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf wrote in a 2015 ruling.

• According to Tagesspiegel Background, complaints against the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) are not relevant under anti-trust law.

• Tagesspiegel Background noted that Vodafone relied on a recent Lufthansa/Condor ruling, in which the OLG Düsseldorf ruled against the FCO after expressing concerns about possible “bias” at the authority.

  “Secondly, the contested order of the Federal Cartel Office is formally unlawful and must therefore be overturned because the members of the decision-making division have given rise to concerns about bias. This stems in particular from the fact that, during a review of the files, Lufthansa was sent a different version of an original memorandum,” OLG Düsseldorf wrote in its ruling.

• Tagesspiegel Background also said Vodafone pointed to several files about the proceedings from the FCO that have been redacted.

• The timeline of the ruling usually takes several months:

  • The FCO announced in August 29, 2022 that Lufthansa had violated antitrust law. OLG Düsseldorf suspended the decision in May 10, 2024 and made a ruling in August 20, 2025.
  • In August 2019, OLG Düsseldorf suspended a decision by the FCO in February 2019. However, this case was fast-tracked.
  • Adobe challenged the FCO cost decision before the OLG Düsseldorf in 2024; the OLG ruled on 26 February 2025.

• A recent study (study period: May 2004 to April 2021) by Podszun/Robertson on judicial review of the FCO finds that at the OLG Düsseldorf level, about 26% of complaints are fully dismissed while 13% are fully annulled.

Assessment

Based on these findings, it still appears that Vodafone’s goal is to delay 1&1’s network rollout. Preventive legal protection is unusual, and Vodafone could have simply challenged the FCO decision after publication, so seeking to block it upfront looks tactical. Even if the OLG is unlikely to side with Vodafone on substance—especially given 1&1’s weaker competitive position—the proceedings could still drag on for up to three years, slowing 1&1’s build-out. I assign a 30% chance that the OLG grants preventive protection, but less than a 20% chance that Vodafone ultimately wins the case.