Germany: Federal Cartel Office issued preliminary legal assessment in its investigation into Vodafone Group, Vodafone GmbH, and Vantage Towers AG over alleged anticompetitive practices relating to failure to provide contracted antenna sites to 1&1

On 11 April 2025, the Federal Cartel Office issued a preliminary legal assessment to Vodafone Group, Vodafone GmbH, and Vantage Towers AG, identifying suspected antitrust violations due to delays in providing antenna sites that had been contractually agreed with 1&1 in 2021. The Office has stated that the delays may be indicative of anticompetitive obstruction of 1&1's market entry as the fourth mobile network operator in Germany. Vantage Towers, which currently oversees approximately 20'000 antenna sites within Germany, has committed to making a substantial number of these sites available to 1&1 by the end of 2025. However, only a limited proportion of the 5G infrastructure has been delivered, while Vodafone has continued to expand its own 5G infrastructure at multiple locations. The Cartel Office has concluded that the conduct in question may potentially constitute abusive obstruction in accordance with Article 19 and 20 of the German Competition Act (GWB). Consequently, the Cartel Office is contemplating the initiation of formal measures, which may include an order to provide the outstanding sites within a period of 3 years. A final decision is expected by mid-2025.