Germany's competition regulator has accused Vodafone and Vantage Towers of obstructing 1&1's 5G mobile rollout in the country.
Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office) said last week that it had concluded that Vodafone and its towers subsidiary Vantage had hindered 1&1's network expansion.
The two companies agreed in 2021 that the new 1&1 network could share 3,800 existing antenna sites. The agreement included expansion targets, with 1,000 sites due to be live by the end of 2022.
However, the rollout didn't go as planned. In February 2023, 1&1 complained that it was facing 'ongoing obstacles to the rollout of its 5G mobile network resulting from actions by Vodafone.’
This led the Bundeskartellamt to open an investigation into 1&1's complaints.
The regulator stated that only a fraction of the contractually agreed locations are still available for 1&1, while at the same time, Vodafone has "significantly expanded its own network."
In 2019, 1&1 Drillisch won 5G mobile spectrum as part of plans to build its own network to become Germany's fourth mobile operator.
A key part of the company's growth plans was the rollout of the contractually agreed locations. According to the Federal Cartel Office's preliminary assessment, this will significantly impair 1&1's competitiveness.
"Based on the findings obtained so far, the delayed provision of the contractually agreed locations must be considered an antitrust-contravening hindrance to 1&1's market entry as a fourth network operator," said Andreas Mundt, president of the Federal Cartel Office.
"Based on our current knowledge, this delay and its negative impact on competition in the relevant markets could have been avoided and should have been avoided due to the prohibition of abuse under antitrust law. We are provisionally considering enforcing the provision of the remaining locations using our antitrust authority resources."
In the announcement last week, the regulator says it "provisionally classifies the conduct of Vodafone and Vantage Towers as abusive obstruction." It adds that, based on current knowledge, the companies would have had numerous options to respond to any difficulties in fulfilling the contract without causing such massive delays.
The regulator also noted that the fulfilment of the contract would not have hindered Vodafone's own network expansion goals.
"The Federal Cartel Office is provisionally considering, in addition to establishing the antitrust violations, ordering the provision of the remaining sites within three years and accompanying this order with further measures," added the regulator.
The Federal Cartel Office said it would provide a final decision on the allegation around the middle of this calendar year.
1&1 eventually launched its 5G mobile network in December 2023. The company has more than 12 million mobile customers.
