MONTABAUR (dpa-AFX) - Germany's newest mobile provider 1&1 did not have an easy year in 2022 when it came to network expansion. Actually, the United Internet subsidiary should have built 1000 activated 5G stations by the end of the year, thus fulfilling a government requirement. The target was missed by a wide margin, with five in the end. For 1&1, it's clear why the plan didn't work out: It suspects intrigue by competitor Vodafone, which calls the shots at 1&1's construction partner Vantage Towers. And there seems to be no improvement in sight; the alleged obstructions are likely to last through the first half of the year. Now 1&1 wants to get the Federal Cartel Office involved.

As the new telecom operator announced in Montabaur on Thursday evening, it intends to file a complaint this Friday due to "ongoing obstructions in the rollout of its 5G mobile network" by Vodafone. A Vantage Towers spokeswoman would not comment on the case when asked, and no comment was initially available from Vodafone.

1&1 wants to take off as the fourth German network operator and is currently building its network. So far, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica Deutschland (O2) and Vodafone have been vying for mobile customers in this country. 1&1 currently uses the Telefonica network, but wants to be able to operate independently in the future. In addition to the 2022 target of 1,000 sites, the company must also be able to serve a quarter of German households (25 percent) by the end of 2025.

Whether 1&1 will be able to meet the requirement is written in the stars. However, the company already warned in its announcement on Thursday evening that "minor delays in the restart" were possible. In addition, Vodafone and Vantage Towers had informed the United Internet subsidiary on Thursday that the expansion targets would be "significantly missed" in at least the first half of the year. Last year, the Vodafone subsidiary had already "almost completely missed" its contractual commitments.

1&1, headquartered in Montabaur, accuses its most important expansion partner of underhandedness on the part of its parent company, Vodafone. For example, the British group plans and develops the rights of use of the German antenna sites of Vantage Towers and thus has control.

Germany is extremely important for Vodafone; in the last quarter, the group made 30 percent of its total revenue from services in this country - and the trend is downward. In recent months, Vodafone has stumbled significantly. Most recently, for example, the telecommunications provider was only able to win 8,000 mobile customers after deducting cancellations - while competitors Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica Deutschland increased their net new customer contract figures in the six-digit range./ngu/he