The deal will last at least 10 years and potentially give Vodafone access to 6m premises
Vodafone will retail Deutsche Glasfaser’s national FTTH infrastructure as part of a wholesale joint agreement that will last at least ten years.
Deutsche Glasfaser said in a statement that the cooperation will bring it closer to its goal of rolling out fibre to Germany’s rural and suburban areas “quickly and comprehensively” through providing open access to other service providers.
It adds that these service providers can then differentiate themselves through services – presumably including prices – while making efficient, responsible use of resources. Which is likely to mean avoiding the idiotic, disruptive, expensive and wasteful practice of overbuilding.
Autumn 2023 activation
From autumn 2023, Vodafone will have access to the German fiber optic network as part of the wholesale agreement and the potential to reach up to 6 million additional households.
However, that’s about a year away and one of Vodafone’s biggest problems is its poor performance in the German broadband market as it loses market share. It is looking unlikely that Nick Read will still be Vodafone Group CEO by that time.
Andreas Pfisterer, CEO of the Deutsche Glasfaser group of companies said, ” Everyone benefits from Open Access: the fibre optic customers in the country have freedom of choice…In doing so, we promote the fair competition of the offers and services and advance fiber optic expansion in Germany”.