Federal Network Agency
Encyclopedia
The Federal Network Agency is the German regulatory office for electricity, gas, telecommunications, post and railway markets. It is a federal government agency
of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and headquartered in Bonn
.
and other technical number assignments. It also regulates the telecommunication market, including termination fees and open access to subscriber lines and licenses telephone companies.
In radiocommunications, the Agency manages the radio frequency spectrum, licenses broadcasting transmitters and detects radio interferences. Licensing radio
and TV stations (that is, content providers), however, is the task of State
authorities.
It is also a root certificate authority
for qualified signatures according to the German Signature Act.
The Agency is not responsible for licensing energy companies. These tasks remain with authorities determined by State
law.
The Agency is not responsible for technical supervision and licensing of railway companies. These tasks remain with the Federal Railway Office
.
[=German Federal Post] was privatised and split into Deutsche Post
and Deutsche Telekom
, which remained under the supervision of the Federal Office for Post and Telecommunications (, ). When the market was finally opened for competitors on 1998-01-01, the Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications and Posts (, ) was established, superseding the Federal Office as the supervisor for posts and telecommunications.
When the government decided to improve competition for the energy and railway markets as of 2005-07-13 and 2006-01-01, it found that the Regulatory Authority's expertise in enabling open access
to telecommunication networks would also be useful in these infrastructure markets. To reflect these new competences, the authority was renamed to Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Posts and Railway (, ).
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and headquartered in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
.
Telecommunications
In telecommunications, the agency has the authority over the German telephone numbering planTelephone numbers in Germany
Country Code: +49International Call Prefix: 00Trunk Prefix: 0The German telephone numbering plan is regulated by the German government's Federal Network Agency , which holds the responsibility for telecommunications and other infrastructure systems.- Overview :There are no standard lengths for...
and other technical number assignments. It also regulates the telecommunication market, including termination fees and open access to subscriber lines and licenses telephone companies.
In radiocommunications, the Agency manages the radio frequency spectrum, licenses broadcasting transmitters and detects radio interferences. Licensing radio
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
and TV stations (that is, content providers), however, is the task of State
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
authorities.
It is also a root certificate authority
Certificate authority
In cryptography, a certificate authority, or certification authority, is an entity that issues digital certificates. The digital certificate certifies the ownership of a public key by the named subject of the certificate...
for qualified signatures according to the German Signature Act.
Postal Services
The Agency's responsibility in the post market include the licensing of companies for postal services and the observation of the market. It also regulates the market, assuring non-discrimintory access to some service facilities, such as PO boxes.Electricity and Gas
In the electricity and gas market, the Agency is responsible for ensuring non-discriminatory third-party access to networks and regulating the fees.The Agency is not responsible for licensing energy companies. These tasks remain with authorities determined by State
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
law.
Railway
In the area of railway traffic, the Federal Network Agency is responsible for ensuring non-disciminatory access to railway infrastructure. This includes monitoring and regulating the train schedules, allocation of railway track slots, access to service facilities, etc.The Agency is not responsible for technical supervision and licensing of railway companies. These tasks remain with the Federal Railway Office
Federal Railway Office
The German Federal Railway Authority has been the independent federal authority for the regulation of the railways in Germany since 1 January 1994...
.
History
In the 1990s, the telecommunications and postal services in Germany were privatised. In 1994, the Deutsche BundespostDeutsche Bundespost
The Deutsche Bundespost was created in 1947 as a successor to the Reichspost . Between 1947 and 1950 the enterprise was called Deutsche Post...
[=German Federal Post] was privatised and split into Deutsche Post
Deutsche Post
Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL, is the world's largest logistics group. With its headquarters in Bonn, the corporation has 467,088 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide and generated revenue of € 51.48 billion in 2010...
and Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Europe....
, which remained under the supervision of the Federal Office for Post and Telecommunications (, ). When the market was finally opened for competitors on 1998-01-01, the Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications and Posts (, ) was established, superseding the Federal Office as the supervisor for posts and telecommunications.
When the government decided to improve competition for the energy and railway markets as of 2005-07-13 and 2006-01-01, it found that the Regulatory Authority's expertise in enabling open access
Open Access (Infrastructure)
In the context of infrastructure, open access involves physical infrastructure such as railways and physical telecommunications network plant being made available to clients other than the owners, for a fee....
to telecommunication networks would also be useful in these infrastructure markets. To reflect these new competences, the authority was renamed to Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Posts and Railway (, ).