On 22 April 2021, the German Bundestag passed the modernization of telecommunications law. The amendment finally transposes the European Electronic Communications Code, which came into force at the end of 2018, into national law. Now that the Bundesrat has also given its approval, the course has been set!
In the future, the central framework conditions for the telecommunications market and the expansion of digital infrastructures in Germany will therefore be newly regulated. Of course, this also affects the municipal level – we take a look at this below. The new Telecommunications Modernization Act comes into force on 1 December 2021. In addition to the new regulations on the Federal Central Information Service (ZIS) – which can be found in Part 5 of the amended Telecommunications Act – the right of way has also been restructured and its content adapted. The new law will also establish coordinating bodies in the federal states.
- New Central Federal Information Service (ZIS)
The previous central information point of the federal government (ZIS) is managed by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) and municipalities or municipal companies with supply network infrastructures have so far provided their data records to the so-called infrastructure atlas “Planning” (Section 77a (1) No. 1, (2) TKG). This atlas will also be included in the reorganized ZIS (see Section 79 (1) No. 1 TKG new version). From December of this year, however, the Federal Ministry of Transport (BMVI) will be responsible for the planning data sets and for the entire restructured CIS (§§ 78 ff. TKG new version). The new law shows that the central information office and its data records will continue to grow. Where there is currently the three-part ISA (planning, shared use and construction site) and the so-called broadband atlas (not previously regulated in the TKG), in future there will be at least five information instruments under the umbrella of the ZIS:
- Infrastructure information (§ 79 TKG new version),
- Information on broadband expansion (§ 80 TKG new version),
- Information on the future expansion of the mobile network (Section 81 TKG new version),
- Information on construction sites (§ 82 TKG new version),
- Information on properties (§ 84 TKG new version).
In addition to infrastructure and construction site information, the property atlas should also be of interest to municipal decision-makers from December. Owners of public properties, land and infrastructures may be obliged to provide data here (see § 83 Para. 2 TKG new version). The specific delivery and inspection conditions differ depending on the information tool and still need to be clarified in detail. Since the BMVI, as the new responsible party, can delegate the tasks of the CIS in full or in part (Section 78 (2) TKG new version), details will probably only be clarified once it is actually clear which authority, body or other third party is ultimately responsible.
- Right of way
The system of rights of way has been adapted and there are also changes to the content for the respective responsible infrastructure managers (Part 8 and Sections 125 et seq. TKG new version). The previously central provision (§ 68 Para. 3 TKG current version) is now dedicated to a separate paragraph with some content adjustments (§ 127 TKG new version). This initially serves to improve clarity for all parties involved, not least the responsible authorities, such as building authorities. A binding decision by the infrastructure managers remains in place, which since the 2016 amendment has been linked to a so-called fictitious consent period of 3 months (pursuant to Section 127 (3) sentence 1 TKG new version). In addition, this period does not begin if the application is incomplete and the infrastructure manager informs the applicant of this within one month (Section 127 (3) sentence 1 TKG new version). In addition, as of December, there is the possibility for infrastructure managers to create somewhat simplified procedural conditions for the category of a “minor construction measure” (see Section 127 (4) TKG new version). If so-called shallow installation depths are used (e.g. trenching procedure), the infrastructure manager must be notified of this. These procedures may ultimately be carried out if the applicant bears any additional costs incurred. From a municipal point of view, it is also important that the obligation to tolerate broadband infrastructure on private property following the right of way will also explicitly include (municipal) service roads in future (Section 76 TKG current version; Section 134 TKG new version).
- Coordinating body
The so-called coordinating body is also included in the right of way (Section 127 (5) TKG new version) This is intended to speed up approval procedures and make them more efficient. The federal states are to create one or more such bodies for this purpose. Regardless of how this task is carried out by the federal states, it will be crucial in future that the individual approval procedures are digitized (Section 68 (3) TKG old version, Section 127 TKG new version). This creates the most synergy effects in order to make procedures faster and better without having to neglect the interests of one side or the other. Coordination in the digital age means digitalization. The German Online Access Act (OZG) and the projects and procedures developed are helping the federal and state governments to implement this. The ZIS will create a uniform and comprehensive database that will be available to all those involved in the planning of expansion projects. A reliable, realistic database not only facilitates the planning of expansion projects, but also speeds up the relevant processes overall, as various correction loops by readjusting the database are no longer necessary. As part of the public expert hearing on March 1 of this year, our managing partner, Tim Brauckmüller, submitted a statement, which can be downloaded here. aconium will be following the implementation of the law closely and is available to answer questions at any time. Please feel free to contact us!