Holding queues

(1) Holding queues may be used only where one of the following conditions is satisfied: 1. the call is made to a free-of-charge telephone number, 2. the call is made to a geographic telephone number, or to a telephone number that the Federal Network Agency has treated as equivalent to geographic telephone numbers under subsection (3), 3. the call is made to a telephone number for mobile services (015, 016, or 017), 4. a fixed price per connection applies to the call, or 5. the call is, for the duration of the holding queue, free of charge for the caller, insofar as this does not concern costs incurred, in the case of calls from abroad, for establishing the connection abroad.
(2) On the first use of a holding queue in the course of a call that does not fall under subsection (1), points 1 to 3, the called party must ensure that the caller is informed, from the start of the holding queue, of its expected duration and, without prejudice to sections 109 to 111, of whether a fixed price applies to the call or whether, under subsection (1), point 5, the call is free of charge for the caller for the duration of the use of that holding queue. The announcement may be ended early once processing begins.
(3) On application by an allocation holder, the Federal Network Agency treats telephone numbers as equivalent to geographic telephone numbers under subsection (1), point 2, with regard to the use of holding queues, where 1. the called party receives no charge for the call to that number from the caller, either directly or indirectly via the provider of telecommunications services, and calls to that number are, as a rule, covered by the flat-rate tariffs available on the market, and 2. the tariffing of that telephone number does not, in any other respect, justify treatment different from geographic telephone numbers.