Priority telecommunications entitlement

(1) Operators of public telecommunications networks and providers of publicly available telecommunications services under section 185(1), first sentence, that provide connections or transmission paths necessary for the services to be ensured under section 185(1), must, for priority telecommunications users, without delay and with priority,
1. provide connections and transmission paths and repair faults in them, and
2. expand the data transmission rates of existing connections or transmission paths to the necessary extent on request.
(2) Operators of public mobile networks must establish mobile connections for interpersonal communication for priority telecommunications users with priority. The Federal Network Agency may make technical determinations and set time requirements for the arrangement of this obligation. In making the determinations, the Federal Network Agency has regard to international technical standards and involves the associations concerned.
(3) Priority telecommunications users are:
1. constitutional organs of the Federation and the Länder,
2. authorities of the Federation, the Länder, the municipalities, and associations of municipalities,
3. courts of the Federation and the Länder,
4. offices of the Federal Armed Forces and the stationed armed forces,
5. disaster control and civil protection organisations, and aid organisations under section 26(1), second sentence, of the Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance Act,
6. bodies responsible for tasks in the healthcare sector,
7. aid and rescue services,
8. broadcasters,
9. users to whom an authority under point 2 responsible for civil protection (civil or disaster protection) or for defence has issued a certificate that they have to perform tasks essential to life or to defence and are, for this purpose, dependent on telecommunications services under subsection (1) or (2). The certificate under the first sentence, point 9, loses its validity ten years after the date of issue, unless a shorter period of validity is noted on the certificate.