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Vodafone says the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office) has not followed key procedural rules in its investigation and has acted with bias
Vodafone has formally challenged the Bundeskartellamt over its investigation into the operator’s alleged anti-competitive behaviour towards rival 1&1. The conflict centres on Vodafone’s supposed obstruction of 1&1’s efforts to build its own 5G network, a move crucial for establishing the company as the country’s fourth major mobile network operator.
1&1 Drillisch won 5G mobile spectrum at auction back in 2019 with the intention of building out its own network and becoming Germany’s fourth national operator. By 2021, 1&1 had signed a deal with Vantage Towers (in which Vodafone holds a 50% stake) to access up to 5,000 of the towerco’s existing mobile sites, allowing them to more rapidly deploy their burgeoning 5G network.
The contract specified that 3,800 sites were to be made available by 2025.
By the end of 2022, however, it was becoming clear that access to this may sites by 2025 would be unlikely, with 1&1 saying it had been granted access to just five sites. In 2023, 1&1 formally complained to the Bundeskartellamt , who subsequently launched an investigation into the source of Vantage’s delays in providing the agreed upon infrastructure.
Now, Vodafone is claiming that the Bundeskartellamt is conducting proceedings in a biased and procedurally improper manner, exceeding its authority. Vodafone has sought interim legal relief at the Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf, arguing that the accusations lack substantive merit and that 1&1 has unduly influenced the investigation.
“I’ve never encountered anything like this in my more than 25 years of professional experience,” said Vodafone’s lawyer, Walther Graf, who provided a 65-page letter to the Bundeskartellamt with the allegations.
The Bundeskartellamt, however, insists that it is conducting its investigations impartially. It noted that its president, Andreas Mundt, maintains regular contacts with all relevant industry leaders, including both 1&1’s CEO Ralph Dommermuth and Vodafone’s executives. The authority dismisses Vodafone’s claims of partiality and unusual procedural conduct as unfounded.
1&1 has also denied any improper coordination with the Bundeskartellamt.
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