Relocation and alteration of telecommunications lines

(1) The relocation or alteration of telecommunications lines requires the written or electronic consent of the body responsible for the upkeep of the way.
(2) Where the body responsible for the upkeep of the way is itself an operator of a telecommunications line, or is combined with an operator within the meaning of section 37(1) or (2) of the Competition Act, the consent under subsection (1) is to be granted by an administrative unit that is independent of the administrative unit responsible for operating the telecommunications line or for exercising the rights as a shareholder.
(3) Consent is deemed to have been granted upon expiry of a period of three months after receipt of the complete application. This consent period does not begin where the application is incomplete and the competent body responsible for the upkeep of the way notifies the applicant of this in text form within one month of receipt of the application by the competent body responsible for the upkeep of the way. In the case of supplementation or amendment of the application, the periods under the first and second sentences begin to run afresh. The consent period may be extended by one month where this is justified by the difficulty of the matter. The extension of the period is to be reasoned and notified in good time.
(4) Where a construction measure that is only minor, in accordance with any administrative provisions of the body responsible for the upkeep of the way in question, is fully notified to that body, and that body does not, within one month, request the notifying party to submit a corresponding application, the consent under subsection (1) is deemed to have been granted. This consent period does not begin where the notification is incomplete and the competent body responsible for the upkeep of the way notifies the notifying party of this in text form within one month of receipt of the notification by the competent body responsible for the upkeep of the way. In the case of supplementation or amendment of the notification, the periods under the first and second sentences begin to run afresh.
(5) Official decisions under nature conservation law, water resources law, monument protection law, and the Road Traffic Regulations that are necessary in the course of the relocation or alteration of telecommunications lines are to be granted at the same time as the consent under subsection (1). This does not apply in cases where the Federation is responsible for granting that consent. Other licensing requirements remain unaffected. The Länder should designate one or more coordinating bodies and ensure the simultaneous granting of the official decisions referred to in the first sentence.
(6) In the case of laying overhead lines, the interests of the bodies responsible for the upkeep of the way, of operators of public telecommunications networks, and urban planning considerations are to be weighed against each other. The weighing must, in particular, take into account, in favour of an applied-for laying of overhead lines, that this accelerates the deployment of very high capacity networks or significantly reduces the costs of laying. Insofar as applied for, overhead lines should, as a rule, be laid where isolated individual buildings or clusters of buildings are to be connected. Insofar as the laying can be coordinated as part of an overall construction measure carried out in close temporal connection with the submission of the application for consent, the laying should, as a rule, take place underground.
(7) The body responsible for the upkeep of the road is to be notified whether fibre-optic lines or duct systems intended to accommodate fibre-optic lines are laid at a depth lower than that provided for under the recognised rules of technology, for example by way of micro-trenching or mini-trenching (shallow installation). Shallow installation may take place where the applicant bears the costs arising from any material impairment of the level of protection, or any resulting higher maintenance expenditure. The first and second sentences do not apply to the laying of fibre-optic lines or duct systems in federal motorways and federal trunk roads built to motorway-equivalent standard.
(8) The consent may be furnished with ancillary provisions, which must be non-discriminatory; the ancillary provisions may regulate only the manner of construction of the telecommunications line and the rules of technology to be observed in doing so, the safety and ease of traffic flow, the documentation, customary in the area of the respective body responsible for the upkeep of the way, of the location of the telecommunications line by geographic coordinates, and the duties to ensure traffic safety. Insofar as no recognised rules of technology exist for shallow installation or for construction and connection concepts for short-range wireless access points, and the body responsible for the upkeep of the way makes requirements as to the manner of construction, in the case of shallow installation or the construction and connection of short-range wireless access points, that depart from the applicant's particulars, these requirements must be necessary on grounds of public safety and order. The consent may, in addition, be made conditional on the provision of reasonable security.