In early 2026, the Federal Ministry for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation (Bundesministerium für Digitales und Staatsmodernisierung, “BMDS”) presented a draft bill to amend the Telecommunications Act (Telekommunikationsgesetz, “TKG”; draft bill version dated 2 February 2026, the “Draft TKG”). The Draft TKG aims to significantly enhance the legal framework for expanding telecommunications infrastructure in Germany, Key measures include alignment with the EU’s Gigabit Infrastructure Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1309), accelerated permit procedures where public rights of way are affected, enshrining the gigabit register in law as a central data hub, expanded rules for in-building fibre optic installation with a new right to full rollout, and the introduction of a new access regime for fibre optic networks in areas with only one network operator. This means significant new rights and obligations for municipalities, telecommunications companies and property owners, along with some fundamental changes affecting their business operations and stakeholder interests.
Background: The draft bill and the key elements paper
The new draft bill (available in German at Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Änderung des TKG und zur Verbesserung der telekommunikationsrechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen für den TK-Netzausbau) picks up where the BMDS’s key elements paper of July 2025 left off (see Federal Ministry for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation submits key elements paper on proposed further amendments to the Telecommunications Act: Stakeholders have until 31 August 2025 to comment | Gleiss Lutz). It builds on the regulatory framework previously outlined, refining and, in some cases, extending it. The bill has three main aims: firstly, aligning national law with the Gigabit Infrastructure Act now in force; secondly, streamlining and accelerating network rollout in support of the federal modernisation agenda; and thirdly, introducing an efficient access regime to strengthen competition.
Key provisions of the draft bill
- Access to fibre optic networks where replication barriers exist, and access to in-building cabling: In many areas, the migration from copper to fibre only economically supports the operation of a single fibre optic network. To ensure effective competition in what are de facto monopolies, the draft bill obliges public fibre optic network operators to negotiate open network access with other companies in areas where the Bundesnetzagentur has identified major and persistent barriers to infrastructure replication and where access to in-building cabling alone is insufficient. In such areas, network operators are required, upon request, to negotiate access with other companies up to the point of use on fair, non-discriminatory and reasonable terms and conditions (section 22a Draft TKG). To this end, the Bundesnetzagentur will guide the process by setting the key terms and conditions of network access, including pricing benchmarks; if no agreement is reached, the agency will then instruct the operator to provide access. Access to in-building telecommunications networks, cabling and ancillary installations will be governed by the new section 22b, under which operators of public telecommunications networks and cabling owners will be required to grant all reasonable requests for access to cabling and ancillary installations within buildings, or – where the point of access is outside the building – up to the first concentration or distribution point.
- Accelerated permit procedures where public rights of way are affected: Currently, any installation or modification of telecommunications lines requires the approval of the authority responsible for road construction (for municipal roads, for example, this is typically the municipality) (section 127(1) TKG). To date, the TKG has employed a legal fiction to facilitate rapid network expansion whereby consent is deemed granted after three months, provided the application was complete. The Draft TKG, shortens this period to two months (section 127(3), sentence 1). And in certain circumstances, it will suffice to merely notify the authority responsible for road construction, provided that the installation or modification of telecommunications lines remain within a limited scope and are completed within a timeframe specified by the applicant (which must not exceed six months).
- Gigabit register as central data hub: The draft bill embeds the gigabit register in the TKG as a single information portal (section 78 et seq. Draft TKG). According to the explanatory memorandum, this central data hub is designed to support faster fibre optic and mobile network rollout in Germany by clearly structuring the scope, collection and availability of information across all information portals. The register will bring together six areas of information: infrastructure including the actual availability of conduits and optical fibre cables (section 79 Draft TKG), network availability (section 80 Draft TKG), future network expansion (section 81 Draft TKG), planned construction projects (section 82 Draft TKG), public properties (section 83 Draft TKG), and areas in need of expansion (section 84 Draft TKG). Network operators and public authorities will be required to supply data, and federal and state funding bodies must additionally provide information on funding (section 80(3) Draft TKG). Different levels of access will apply to this information. Only high-level network availability maps will be publicly available. These will include an end-user information tool that allows users to check connection quality on an address- and operator-specific basis (section 80(4) Draft TKG). Detailed non-public data on infrastructure, construction work and public properties, for example, will only be available to certain users: Network operators and their contractors may be granted project-specific access upon request, provided they can demonstrate a concrete rollout project (section 83(3) in conjunction with section 79(4) Draft TKG). Public authorities and their contractors will receive access to all information categories but only to the extent necessary for planning, funding or other legally defined purposes. The authority requesting access must prove that it has taken adequate technical and organisational precautions to protect operating and business secrets (section 85 Draft TKG). Highly sensitive information – on critical infrastructure for instance – will not be provided (section 79(3) Draft TKG). All access of non-public information will be logged and monitored (section 79(4), sentence 4; section 85, sentence 4 Draft TKG) and the companies supplying the data must be informed about any onward disclosure. The rules on design, data formats and conditions of use will be specified in a legal ordinance pursuant to section 86 Draft TKG.
- Rules on in-building optical fibre installation (including the right to full rollout): Section 72 TKG currently defines the circumstances under which a network operator may charge property owners a fibre provision fee, including how such fees are calculated, and what protection applies (such as price caps). Where residential units are rented out, the owner may generally pass these costs on to tenants on a pro rata basis as operating costs. The draft also envisages changes to the fibre-provision fee regime itself: the maximum apportionable costs per residential unit would increase from EUR 540 to EUR 720 gross (section 72 Draft TKG). Another major change is the right to full rollout set out in section 144 Draft TKG. Under this provision, operators would be entitled to install fibre optic infrastructure throughout an entire building if it is connected to a fibre optic network, or will be within 20 months. Under section 144(2) Draft TKG, property owners may block the full rollout by declaring within two months that they will install the infrastructure in place themselves or commission a third party to do so within 24 months. The draft bill also introduces minimum technical standards for in-building fibre optic infrastructure. These include an obligation to install four fibres from the building connection point to the termination point of the in-building fibre cabling, with at least one fibre being continuously connected end-to-end (section 145(2) Draft TKG). Operators would also be required produce technical documentation to ensure sustainable operation. Under section 145(3) Draft TKG, the Bundesnetzagentur would also have the power to issue binding technical specifications by way of general administrative order.
- Further changes: The draft bill also includes changes in several other areas. Owners and operators of railway infrastructure would be required to cooperate in ensuring mobile coverage along railway lines. Under the newly introduced section 106a Draft TKG, the Bundesnetzagentur could also order measures ranging from the provision of information and consent for shared use to the implementation of construction works. A further proposed provision, section 134a Draft TKG, would introduce a right to information from electricity network operators and establish a priority right for connecting wireless access points to power grids. Finally, section 2, sentence 3 Draft TKG would designate the installation and modification of telecommunications lines as being in the overriding public interest.
Impact on affected parties
- Telecommunications companies: Telecommunications companies stand to benefit from considerable procedural simplifications: The new notification procedure will eliminate the need for a formal approval process where the requirements are met. The right to full rollout (section 144 Draft TKG) will make it possible to establish in-building fibre optic infrastructures throughout an entire building, while the new access regime (section 22a) will grant access to fibre optic networks in areas where there are barriers to replication. This will also entail new obligations, however, since the minimum technical standards for in-building fibre optic infrastructure under section 145(2) Draft TKG – four fibres and proper documentation – must be fulfilled. Expanded information-reporting obligations vis-à-vis the gigabit register will require the regular submission of data. In the case of full rollout, operators will be obliged to ensure operational readiness within 18 months, facing an appropriate contractual penalty if they fail to do so.
- Authorities responsible for road construction (municipalities): The Draft TKG creates new obligations for municipalities as authorities responsible for road construction, as the shortened two-month period for assumed consent under section 127(3) will require faster review procedures. Requiring written or electronic confirmation of assumed consent within one week of a request introduces a new obligation to take action (section 127(3), sentence 6 Draft TKG). As part of the new notification procedure, municipalities will be required to confirm receipt of the notification within one month of receiving it and, where appropriate, prohibit construction. The obligation to issue certificates attesting to competent and reliable construction pursuant to section 127a(4) will also increase the red tape for municipalities.
- Property owners: Under section 144 Draft TKG, property owners will have to allow and support the full rollout of in-building fibre optic infrastructure by a network operator, including on-site inspections and agreement on cable routing (section 144(3)). While they will have the opportunity to opt out and carry out the installation themselves, this is subject to tight deadlines and appropriate contractual penalties. New builds and renovation projects will have to meet minimum technical standards (section 145), and documentation will have to be retained for at least ten years (section 145(2), sentence 5).
- End users (tenants): End users will bear a higher fibre provision fee of up to EUR 720, compared with the current EUR 540, spread over an extended twelve-year period. The access fee itself may not however be passed on directly to end users. Overall, the new access rules are intended to improve consumers’ ability to choose their provider freely.
- Authorised users of the gigabit registry, and stakeholders required to supply information: The Draft TKG introduces direct statutory data submission obligations for network operators, public authorities that own physical infrastructure and, for the first time, federal and state funding bodies with regard to funding information. Details such as the type, scope and frequency of data submissions will be set out in an ordinance pursuant to section 86 Draft TKG. The Draft TKG also establishes a framework for sanctioning non-compliance with obligations to provide information (section 228(1)).
Conclusion and outlook
The Draft TKG proposes a wide range of new rights and obligations for municipalities, telecommunications companies, property owners and network operators. Stakeholders are therefore well advised to keep a close eye on the legislative process.
The draft bill is part of a broader set of regulatory developments at EU level, in particular the proposal for a Digital Networks Act published in January 2026 (European Commission unveils Digital Networks Act proposal in bid to reform EU telecommunications law | Gleiss Lutz), establishing a binding EU-wide framework for copper-to-fibre migration. How the national and EU legal regimes align will be a key issue for affected businesses going forward.
Forward
