Telefónica Deutschland is broadening its fixed line reach after gaining access to German utility company EWE’s network.
The company has a particular focus on Lower Saxony in the north of the country and Telefónica is aiming to offer speeds of more than 100MBps through a VDSL network.
Existing O2 customers have already started to switch onto the new tariffs and Telefónica said it was targeting both consumer and enterprise companies with the service.
The operator has been working hard to grow its fixed line operation in Germany, buying E-Plus in 2014 and partnering with Deutsche Telekom on a fixed network since 2013. Its rival has also been connecting Telefónica’s base stations with fibre.
However, independent regional network operators and local city organisations supply almost five million German households between them, leading Telefónica Deutschland to make these kinds of partnerships to open up new markets.
EWE is one of several fixed line providers to use vitroconnect’s brokerage platform to open up its network.
Alfons Lösing, Chief Partner and Business Officer at Telefónica Deutschland, said: “The cooperation with vitroconnect gives us access to a growing number of local fibre-optic networks. It is an ideal complement to our existing fixed network partnerships with new regions and higher internet speeds.
“This will benefit our private and business customers, whom we can offer high-speed internet and fixed telephony at excellent value for money in even more areas.”
Andreas Hachenberger, Carrier & Wholesale Manager, EWE, said: “In the north-west, we have been steadily expanding our fibre-optic network over the last 20 years and are well-known for high-speed internet connections.
“Thanks to the cooperation with vitroconnect and Telefónica Deutschland, more people in our region will benefit from our expansion activities, and we will benefit from greater network utilisation.”