On Friday 11 August, the European Commission approved three German virtual access products that will allow the use of so-called “vectoring” technology in state-funded high-speed broadband networks.
On 15 June 2015, the Commission approved a €3 billion German state aid scheme to promote investment in high-speed broadband infrastructure, especially for rural areas. In its decision, the Commission allowed the use of so-called “vectoring” technology, which uses the existing copper network and delivers faster broadband speeds than those achieved using very high speed digital subscriber lines.
As vectoring prevents competitors from gaining physical access to the individual copper lines leading to the customers, and therefore from providing Internet access products, Germany was required to propose virtual Internet access products. These require network operators to transport competitors’ data traffic under similar conditions to those they would have enjoyed had they been able to access the copper network.
In September 2016, the German authorities therefore notified the Commission of three virtual unbundled local access (VULA) products. The Commission found that these products would allow access to customers and guarantee competitors open access to the network. It therefore concluded that the 2013 guidelines on state aid for broadband had not been breached and that the VULA fulfilled the requirements set in place by the decision of June 2015. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)