German telecoms deregulation is hailed a success

NEWS New telecommunications companies in Germany have gained a 12 per cent market share of long-distance calls since deregulation six months ago, according to a report from the German telecoms authority RTP. Klause Dieter Scherle, president of RTP, claimed this makes Germany the clear winner in the deregulation race. Despite losing out on market share to the 120 new companies who now have a licence to operate a telephone network, Deutsche Telekom has continued to improve its revenue. Robert Hall, manager of the competition and regulation group at Ovum, said: "This is a good result. But the local market is much more difficult to penetrate than long distance. Entry to that market will depend on regulatory developments." He added that it will probably take a long time, as Telekom "will put up a strong fight". The regulatory body said it still needs to make a decision on the fee Telekom can charge its rivals to use its network, and its customers for number portability.