Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone have signed a ten-year contract for cooperation in the fixed line network segment.
Deutsche Telekom will continue to grant Vodafone access to its VDSL / vectoring network and extend usage to existing and future FTTH optical fiber networks. The fixed line network agreement supplements the cooperation between both companies in the mobile communications segment.

Since 2013, Vodafone has been purchasing fiber-optic network-based copper lines (VDSL / vectoring) from Deutsche Telekom as part of a contract that it then markets to its end customers. Both companies have now agreed an extension and expansion of the cooperation.

Deutsche Telekom will provide its partner with fiber-optic lines (FTTH) with download speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second in addition to the existing VSDL/vectoring lines. Vodafone will also be able to offer its customers a proportion of its broadband offerings on the basis of the Deutsche Telekom network in the coming years.

The agreement announced today enables Deutsche Telekom to ensure the long-term utilization of its networks while Vodafone can market products on the basis of Deutsche Telekom’s network at attractive conditions.

The new cooperation will strengthen Vodafone in areas where the company currently does not yet have its own gigabit fiber-optic networks or is not accelerating fiber-optic projects in municipalities or business parks itself.

Deutsche Telekom announced a broadband cooperation with Telefonica a few weeks ago. Vodafone and Telefonica have a broadband cooperation in force.

The agreement between Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone announced today is the third large-scale partnership in the German fixed line network segment.

The Deutsche Telekom VDSL and FTTH lines are wholesale service products with which Vodafone can provide in-house products to its customers across Germany.

Deutsche Telekom’s fiber optic-based VDSL network currently reaches over 33 million households in Germany. Approximately 2 million households are currently equipped with fiber-optic lines. Deutsche Telekom will significantly accelerate its fiber-optic build-out in the coming years.

Vodafone’s fiber-optic network reaches over 22 million households with gigabit speed lines. By 2022, Vodafone is aiming to supply two-thirds of Germany with gigabit products. It aims to install more and more optical fiber in its networks to achieve this goal.