Germany signs multibillion-euro pact to accelerate fiber and mobile network expansion

Investment targets and rollout numbers

Industry data contained in the agreement sets out concrete investment levels. In 2026, telecom operators plan to spend approximately 8.5 billion euros on fiber-optic expansion and 2.4 billion euros on mobile networks. For 2027, at least 6.6 billion euros is earmarked for fiber and 2.4 billion euros for mobile. The 2026 plans target 3.2 million directly usable fiber connections ("Homes Connected") and 2.5 million prepared connections ("Homes Passed").

Speaking after the signing, Wildberger framed the pact as a joint effort to cut red tape. "Wir wollen mehr Tempo, weniger Bürokratie und verlässliche Rahmenbedingungen, damit der Ausbau von Glasfaser und Mobilfunk in Deutschland spürbar vorankommt," he said. He added that making progress transparent through concrete indicators creates more binding commitments for investments, approval processes and the implementation of jointly agreed goals: "Indem man den Fortschritt mit konkreten Kenngrößen transparent mache, schaffe man mehr Verbindlichkeit für Investitionen, Genehmigungsprozesse und die Umsetzung der gemeinsam vereinbarten Ziele."

Faster, digital approval procedures

Central to the agreement is a commitment by states and municipalities to drastically accelerate and consistently digitize approval procedures for new mobile masts and gigabit lines. Marcel de Groot, CEO of Vodafone Deutschland, welcomed the change: "Vor allem die zügigeren und digitalen Genehmigungsverfahren für neue Mobilfunk-Masten und Gigabit-Leitungen, die die Vereinbarung mit Bund, Ländern und Kommunen für alle Regionen in Deutschland vorsieht, helfen uns schnelle Verbindungen zu allen Menschen und Unternehmen zu bringen."

Tools, Open Access and the BNetzA's new role

The pact draws on standardized digital tools to speed up planning. National rollout of platforms such as the OZG-Breitbandportal is intended to shorten processing and implementation times for construction projects. Industry association Bitkom, citing its own data, said actual planning by companies takes on average eight months and construction about four months, but site searches stretch to an average of 16 months and approval processes to around 10 months. Power connections for masts can take up to a year and a half. Bitkom has called for a public-building and land property atlas to identify mast sites faster and for masts to receive prioritized grid connections.

The agreement also hardens the role of the Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA). The regulator gains a stronger control function, including a standardized procedure to receive reports from municipalities about doubts over the expertise or reliability of individual construction and telecom companies, and the power to initiate further review steps when significant concerns are raised. The pact commits the industry to "Open Access," opening new networks to all providers on non-discriminatory terms, which the agreement says should strengthen end-customer competition, reduce investment risks for builders and improve the economic use of newly built infrastructure.

Key Performance Indicators and six-month reviews

To track compliance, the memorandum defines Key Performance Indicators covering actual expansion progress, specific investment amounts, and the duration of official approval procedures. The KPIs are intended to create "Transparenz über Fortschritte und Herausforderungen des Ausbaus sowie der Marktsituation." Progress reviews will run every six months and rely primarily on existing BNetzA data, avoiding extra reporting burdens on companies.

Industry reaction was broadly supportive but conditional. Breko called the agreement "eine gute Grundlage für die weitere Zusammenarbeit zwischen Branche, Politik und Verwaltung" and urged the federal government to back, in the ongoing EU Digital Networks Act negotiations, a rules-based and rapid transition from copper to fiber networks. Bitkom's demand for a property atlas and prioritized power connections for masts was not yet addressed in the memorandum itself.

Wildberger summed up the signatories' aim: "mehr Tempo, weniger Bürokratie und verlässliche Rahmenbedingungen, damit der Ausbau von Glasfaser und Mobilfunk in Deutschland spürbar vorankommt." Whether the new procedures and KPIs translate into faster rollouts will be tested at the first six-month review later in 2026.