The current discussion about (new) legal rules, regulatory measures and other political fields of action is dominated by the question of how to achieve (faster) nationwide availability of FTTH networks. This focus of the debate is not surprising given the relative backlog in fibre roll-out that Germany still has, despite the acceleration of fibre deployment in recent years. A paradigm shift also took place in European and German regulatory policy some years ago. Regulatory measures were seen and taken primarily from the perspective of promoting investment rather than promoting competition and consumer benefits. This paradigm shift was based on a (presumed) trade-off between increased investment in fibre roll-out and (more) competition in the markets.
However, we must not lose track of what competition in the market could look like in the future world of fibre, once the fibre coverage targets have been reached, what structural characteristics the market could have and how competition could function. These questions will not only become relevant once fibre networks with national coverage have been built. If they are only asked then, it may be too late. This would be the case, for example, if the market structures that have characterised the copper world to date were to be reproduced in the fibre world. The course for competition can and must be set today so that measures are taken presently with a view to a competitive scenario for the fibre market.
This short paper aims to show the implications of certain structural characteristics and the behaviour of market participants for future competition. At the same time, a vision for competition in the fibre world is to be developed and evaluated. The focus of the evaluation lies on sustainable effective competition.
