The New Telecommunications Act - Part 2 - Licences and Licensing Procedures

The new German Telecommunications Act distinguishes between telecommunication services subject to a licence, services to be notified to the authorities and so called free services. Licences, which have been granted under the regime of the now basically obsolete Telecommunications Installations Act (FAG) like those for mobile telephone services or satellite telecommunications services, however, will remain in force.

Licences will be granted by a regulatory body. They are required for those areas, which were previously subject to the state monopoly, namely the provision and the operation of the public (fixed, mobile or satellite) network as well as voice telephony services. This licensing requirement is considered necessary in order to ensure an effective basic telecommunications service, in particular in catastrophe and crisis situations, to ensure telecommunication privacy and to ensure a universal network with general geographical coverage. A license will only be required,