Regulatory objectives, charge standards, and time limits for national dispute resolution

(1) The Federal Network Agency may be called upon, as the national dispute resolution body under section 211 in conjunction with section 214, and a binding decision applied for, in the following cases: 1. the owner or operator of a public utility network or of other physical infrastructure suitable for the construction or connection of small-area wireless access points does not submit an offer for shared use within the period referred to in section 138(2) and section 154(2), or no agreement is reached on the terms of shared use; 2. rights, obligations, or grounds for refusal laid down in sections 136, 137, 142, and 153 are disputed; 3. in the cases under section 143(2) and (3), no agreement on coordination of the civil works is reached within one month of the date of receipt of the application by the owner or operator of the public utility network; 4. no agreement on shared use under section 145(2) and (3) is reached within two months of receipt of the application; 5. no agreement on network access under section 155(1) is reached within two months of receipt of the application by the operator of the public telecommunications network; or 6. no agreement on network access under section 72(6) is reached within one month of receipt of the application by the operator of network infrastructure constructed under section 72(1), points 1 and 2.
(2) In the procedure under subsection (1), point 1, the Federal Network Agency decides on the rights, obligations, or grounds for refusal under sections 138, 139, 141, and 154. Where it sets a shared-use charge, this must be determined fairly and reasonably. The basis for the amount of the shared-use charge is the additional costs incurred by the owner or operator of the public utility network or of the other physical infrastructure through enabling shared use of its passive network infrastructure or its other physical infrastructure. In addition, it grants a reasonable mark-up as an incentive for owners or operators of public utility networks or other physical infrastructure to grant shared use.
(3) Where the dispute under subsection (1), point 1, concerns shared use of a public telecommunications network, the Federal Network Agency also takes into account, in addition to subsection (2), the regulatory objectives referred to in section 2(2). In doing so, the Federal Network Agency ensures that the owner and operator of the public telecommunications network to be shared have the possibility of recovering their costs; for this purpose, it takes into account, beyond the additional costs under subsection (2), also the effects of the shared use applied for on their business plan, including the investments in the shared public telecommunications network and a reasonable return on them.
(4) In the procedures under subsection (1), points 3 and 5, the Federal Network Agency lays down, in its decision, fair and non-discriminatory terms, including the charges, for the coordination agreement or for the respective network access applied for.
(5) In the procedure under subsection (1), point 4, the determination of the amount of the shared-use charge for owners or operators of in-building components of public telecommunications networks, or owners of cabling and associated facilities in buildings, is governed by the standards of subsection (2), without a mark-up being granted. For in-building components of a very high capacity network constructed, or upgraded in-building network infrastructure consisting entirely of fibre-optic components, after the entry into force of this Act, determination of the shared-use charge for the owner or operator of a public telecommunications network applying for shared use is governed by the standards of subsection (3), insofar as the in-building network infrastructure to be shared was constructed at the expense of an owner or operator of a public telecommunications network that is not an undertaking affiliated, within the meaning of section 3, point 69, with the party entitled to dispose of the building. Insofar as the telecommunications network operator seeking shared use has made investments to construct this infrastructure, it may claim shared use free of charge, unless the shared use causes exceptional expense owing to particular technical or structural circumstances. The standard under the third sentence applies only to investments made for the first time from the entry into force of this Act.
(6) Insofar as replication of the network infrastructure is technically impossible or economically inefficient, the Federal Network Agency, as national dispute resolution body, may, beyond the decision under subsection (5) on shared use under section 145(2) and (3), require owners or operators of in-building components of public telecommunications networks, or owners of cabling and associated facilities in buildings, to grant other undertakings access to the in-building network infrastructure, or up to the first concentration or distribution point of the public telecommunications network outside the building. The measures imposed may, in particular, contain specific provisions on the granting of access, transparency, and non-discrimination, and on access charges. The measures must be objective, transparent, proportionate, and non-discriminatory. The consultation procedure under section 12(1) and the procedure for adopting provisional measures under section 12(7) apply correspondingly. The consolidation procedure under section 12(2), (3), and (6) applies correspondingly, insofar as the measures affect trade between the Member States of the European Union and no exception applies under a recommendation or under guidelines adopted by the Commission under Article 34 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972. The Federal Network Agency, as national dispute resolution body, reviews the effectiveness of the adopted measures within five years. The fourth to sixth sentences apply correspondingly to the results of its review. The Federal Network Agency, as national dispute resolution body, may withdraw intended measures under this subsection at any time.
(7) The Federal Network Agency decides with binding effect, after receipt of the complete application, in the procedure under 1. subsection (1), points 1 and 5, within four months, and 2. subsection (1), points 2 to 4 and 6, within two months.
(8) The Federal Network Agency may extend the time limits set for it for dispute resolution by no more than two months in exceptional circumstances. The circumstances are to be given specific and sufficient reasons.
(9) Applications may be submitted in writing or electronically.