Germany’s telecom and antitrust regulators are investigating a De...

a clause that allows DSL resellers that interconnect with DT to obtain DSL lines to reach end-customers -- and which have more than 120 customers in a DT local calling area -- to receive a 50% rebate on DT’s end-user prices, way above the usual 11.5%. Observers believe the provision favors T-Online -- DT’s ISP subsidiary which, with 4.5 million customers, is the country’s largest ISP -- allowing it to undercut smaller resellers’ prices to consumers. Those resellers, together with alternative DSL providers, say DT is charging rates lower than its costs ahead of a T-Online and DT merger. Competitors are seeking an injunction from the Administrative Court in Cologne, claiming the net rental agreement hurts resellers of DT DSL connections because they're not eligible for the same favorable terms and that DT is trying to force them out of the market sector. “The rental rebates are not only discriminatory, they hurt the rollout of rural broadband,” attorney Axel Spies said on behalf of the German Competitive Carriers Assn. (VATM). The rebates favor large providers who focus on high-density population areas with many customers in the DT’s local calling area, causing DSL prices in rural and urban areas to “drift apart.” The fact that regulators will now check DT’s resale tariffs to determine if they're cost-based is “good news,” Spies said. DT now reportedly operates around 72% of all DSL connection in Germany (some 10.4 million lines), and DSL is by far the most popular broadband delivery service in a country where broadband cable connections don’t play a major role.