The five regional fibre network owners represent more than half of Denmark’s fibre connections
Five Danish fibre network companies with strong local market positions have submitted draft commitments to the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority, Konkurrence- og Forbrugerstyrelsen, in a move intended to address competition issues in areas where they are the sole or dominant fibre infrastructure provider. The proposals have now been sent out for market consultation, marking an important step ahead of the next sector-specific regulatory period beginning in 2027.
The companies involved are Aura, BornFiber, EnergiFyn, Fibia and Norlys. Together, they represent more than half of Denmark’s fibre connections, with affected areas spread across the country.
According to the authority, the commitments are designed to resolve competition problems that arise in locations where a single fibre owner controls access to households and small businesses. In these areas, the infrastructure owner is able to determine which retail internet service providers can sell services over the network and at what wholesale price. Sector-specific regulation is therefore applied to ensure that service providers can compete on equal terms and that wholesale access prices do not exceed regulated ceilings.
Jacob Schaumburg-Müller, deputy director at the authority, said the regulation of fibre network owners has a direct impact on consumers and small businesses. He noted that the objective is to create conditions that allow effective competition on availability, quality and price in the coming years, even where infrastructure competition is limited.
Five out of six
Six fibre network companies initially submitted draft commitments. However, while five proposals were deemed suitable for consultation following dialogue and revisions, a sixth was assessed as insufficient to address the identified competition problems. Although the authority has not publicly named that company, analysts at Tefficient suggest it is likely to be TDC NET, the national wholesale infrastructure arm formerly part of TDC Group.
The draft commitments grant retail internet providers the right to access the fibre networks of the five companies and set out the conditions for doing so. Central to the proposals are new wholesale price ceilings covering the period from 2027 to 2031. These ceilings are higher than those in force since 2021, reflecting several cost drivers identified by the authority.
These include general inflation leading to higher equipment costs, an increase in the allowed return on invested capital as interest rates have risen, and the need to accommodate potentially higher expenditure on securing fibre networks against threats such as cyberattacks. The price ceilings will vary between operators, largely due to differences in population density and underlying cost structures in the regulated areas.
Denmark’s telecoms legislation, which implements relevant EU directives, requires the authority to identify competition problem areas and impose remedies in five-year cycles. The current decisions run until the end of 2026, with new determinations due later this year. Where fibre owners are unable to resolve issues through voluntary commitments, the authority can instead impose binding obligations.
The commitments now under consultation are not legally binding. Following feedback from market participants, the companies may revise their proposals before the authority issues its final decisions. From 1 October 2025, responsibility for telecom competition regulation will formally sit with Konkurrence- og Forbrugerstyrelsen, following its transfer from the Danish Business Authority, further consolidating oversight as Denmark’s fibre market matures.
