Telekom to rent NetCologne lines

Deutsche Telekom will rent broadband lines from a competitor for the first time: Germany's national telco has announced an agreement with city carrier NetCologne for usage of each other's network infrastructure to offer high-speed internet access. Telekom will rent fibre-optic lines from NetCologne which reach into buildings (fibre to the building, FTTB). In return, NetCologne wants to use VDSL lines from Telekom in joint coverage areas in federal state North-Rhine Westphalia. Through the sharing agreement, the companys' customers will be able to sign up for fast internet services based on the competitor's infrastructure. "We are proud to be the first company in Germany to have arranged such an agreement with Telekom," NetCologne CEO Hans Konle said in Cologne. Niek Jan van Damme, Telekom board member for Germany, added: "Through the joint usage of infrastructure, network expansion will become profitable more quickly as it will boost network usage." Both the cartel office, Bundeskartellamt, and federal network agency Bundesnetzagentur have been informed about the agreement. The wholesale pricing model of which details have not been disclosed still needs approval by Bundesnetzagentur. Telekom and NetCologne want to arrange comparable agreements with other competitors.