Apply for right of way for telecommunication lines and networks

To lay telecommunications cables in public thoroughfares, you need rights of way transferred by the Federal Network Agency. The city or municipality then grants you permission to lay the telecommunications cables.

If your company wants to lay telecommunications cables for public telecommunications networks in roads, you need the approval of the party responsible for maintaining the road. As a rule, this is the city or municipality concerned.

To this end, you should first have the right of way transferred by the Federal Network Agency, which in principle entitles you to use the roads. This is because by transferring the right of way, the city or municipality usually has to give you its approval if your project involves telecommunications lines that serve public purposes. If the Federal Network Agency has transferred the right of way to you, the use of the path is also free of charge for you.

There is no legal obligation for you to apply for the transfer.

In your application to the Federal Network Agency, you must specify the area for which you are applying for the right of use.

In the application, you must prove, among other things, that your company is

• competent
• efficient and
• reliable.

In particular, you must provide evidence of your financial capability.

The transfer of the right of way applies for the period in which your telecommunications company also operates in the public domain.

• for companies subject to registration: current extract from the register, e.g. extract from the commercial register
• if applicable: listing of the
  • shareholdings
  • Company connections to road maintenance authorities
• outlined or written description of your planned or existing telecommunication network or telecommunication lines, business model for supplying the user group
• List of required areas
• maps with the administrative boundaries of the areas
• signed declarations of competence and reliability
• If applicable, reference projects and similar evidence of your company's previous civil engineering activities
• investment and financing plan with all income and expenses over 5 years
• Credit report on your company from a credit agency
• Evidence depending on the method of financing:
  • Binding financing commitments and explanation of the financing model
  • proof of own funds for the period of the first year of the investment plan
  • Binding financing commitments from credit institutions or affiliated companies
  • economic information on affiliated companies providing funds
  • Binding grant or subsidy notices

The Federal Network Agency may request further evidence and documents from you if these are necessary for its decision.

• Your company owns, operates or plans public telecommunications networks or telecommunications lines serving public purposes.
• Your telecommunications company is demonstrably competent, reliable and capable of establishing telecommunications lines.

• Opposition
  • Further information on how to lodge an appeal can be found in the notification or the fee notice.

You can apply for the right of way online, by email or by mail.

Apply for rights of way online:

• Access the online application on the federal portal verwaltung.bund.de. This will guide you step by step through the necessary information, which you can enter electronically.
  • Note: You will need an ELSTER company account to apply online.
• Upload the required documents as a file and submit the application.
• Send files that are too large to upload or are not available in digital form to the Federal Network Agency by mail.
• The Federal Network Agency will check your application and, if necessary, contact you with queries or because of missing documents or additional evidence required.
• After successful review, you will receive the notice of right of way and the fee notice with instructions on how to appeal.

Apply for rights of way by e-mail or mail:

• Download the application form from the Federal Network Agency's website.
• You can use the form either
  • fill it out on the screen
  • or download it, print it out and then fill it in.
• Print out the form and sign it.
• Send the form with all necessary documents preferably by e-mail or alternatively by mail to the Federal Network Agency.
• The Federal Network Agency will check your application and, if necessary, contact you with any queries or because of missing documents or additional evidence required.
• After a successful review, you will receive the notice of right of way and the fee notice with instructions on how to appeal by mail.

There is no deadline.

The processing time is up to 6 weeks. The mentioned period starts with completeness of the application documents, i.e. including the required proofs.

Fees for the transfer of the right of use are set according to the time spent. The fees are set by means of a separate fee notice.