Ralph Dommermuth has clearly rejected speculation about a sale of the fourth German mobile network 1&1.
“There is nothing to the rumors, there is no dialogue with Telefonica,” said the founder and head of United Internet and 1&1 in an interview with “Welt am Sonntag”. He’s not planning on selling: “My team and I have been fighting hard for many years. We’re taking a rocky road. We’re not doing this just to hand over the keys in the middle.
With 1&1, Dommermuth is currently setting up the fourth mobile network in Germany alongside Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica O2. There had recently been speculation in the market that Dommermuth might prefer to sell the billion-dollar network construction project rather than continue with it. However, the entrepreneur is open to cooperation, for example in the shared use of radio towers in rural areas – a model that is already widespread in other European countries. According to its own information, 1&1 supplied 27 percent of households in Germany with its network at the end of 2025, thus exceeding the target of 25 percent set by the Federal Network Agency. Coverage is expected to increase to 35 percent by the end of 2026.
Dommermuth is currently involved in a legal dispute with the Federal Network Agency. The authority only extended low-band frequencies that were due to expire at the end of 2025 to the three established network operators Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica – without taking 1&1 into account. “In my view, the extension was unlawful,” said Dommermuth. These frequencies are particularly important for building supply. Despite all the resistance, Dommermuth drew a positive interim conclusion: the entry of a fourth network operator had stimulated competition and led to significantly cheaper tariffs for consumers.
/nas/stk
BERLIN (dpa-AFX)
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