In March 2017, the Bundesnetzagentur published a consultation document regarding the regulation of wholesale access fees for fibre-based products in Germany. The question of how to regulate access to fibre rests on the relevant market. For the regulation of wholesale access, it is significant whether the relevant market includes all access technologies (DSL, cable, and fibre) and whether the relevant market includes all speeds.

NERA experts Dr. Bruno Soria, Dr. Stefan Berger, Dr. C.-Philipp Heller, and former Managing Director Prof. Dr. Frank Maier-Rigaud were retained in July 2017 to consult on the definition of the relevant market. Their work included a detailed analysis of survey data to estimate final customers’ preferences related to Internet access technologies. Based on this work, they assessed whether a small but significant non-transitory increase in the price (SSNIP) for high-speed Internet access would be profitable for a hypothetical monopolist. In addition, they analyzed whether the availability of alternative technologies affected the sales of fibre access products to final customers. Overall, they concluded that there was a single relevant market including all technologies and all speeds.

The Bundesnetzagentur published its consultation draft regarding market definition and analysis in May 2019. In line with the findings of the NERA report, the Bundesnetzagentur found that there is a single relevant market for high-speed Internet access, encompassing all access technologies and speeds.

For more details, please find the consultation document of the Bundesnetzagentur here (link in German).