Deutsche Telekom has announced a partnership agreement with regional provider R-Kom to invest EUR 100 million to expand the fiber-optic network in Regensburg. Telekom and R-Kom plan to connect the entire city, including around 100,000 residential and commercial units, to the high-speed network by 2032 at the latest. The agreement, signed on July 29, includes an open access network clause, allowing Telekom to offer fiber-optic connections to its customers via the R-Kom network, the official release said.
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Technical Cooperation and Network Expansion
"New is that in the future we will be able to access fibers reserved for us within this network," says Telekom, which will also become active as the second network operator in Regensburg. Technically, the cooperation means that R-Kom will install a second light wave fiber for Telekom in the further expansion of the network. This year, the first main distributors of Telekom in Regensburg will be linked to the R-Kom network, according to the official release.
Long-Term Benefits and Infrastructure Ownership
"At the beginning of 2025, we will expand the first development areas according to this concept and go into operation together," announces R-Kom. R-Kom remains the owner of the network infrastructure, and Telekom rents the fibers long-term.
Of the total investment of around EUR 100 million from 2024 to 2032, 80 percent will go into building the new network, and around 20 percent will go into upgrading the existing network. Telekom's fiber-optic network already covers more than 750,000 kilometers. In Germany, the company supplies more than 36 million households and companies.
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Deutsche Telekom and O2 Telefonica Fiber Optic Partnership
In an earlier development announced on July 25, 2024, Deutsche Telekom and O2 Telefonica deepened their collaboration in fiber optics with a new contract that enhances their purchasing model for fiber-optic connections. This model allows O2 Telefonica to market Telekom's fiber-optic portfolio to its own customers.
The partnership, which extends a 2020 agreement on fixed network cooperation, enables O2 Telefonica to market fiber-optic tariffs to 7.4 million households, with an additional 2 million households to be added annually.
Where Deutsche Telekom has expanded or will further expand its FTTH network, Telefonica can market the connection and use the fiber optic under the same starting conditions as Deutsche Telekom based on the contract.
