Tele Columbus and 1&1 agree wholesale cooperation

• 1&1 partners up with Tele Columbus Group in the marketing of broadband connections
• 1&1 will have access to all IP-enabled households in Tele Columbus‘ network, therefore Tele Columbus‘ network penetration is expected to increase
• Even broader range of services available to housing associations and tenants
• Technical implementation already underway, 1&1 products available on Tele Columbus network from April 2023

Montabaur, Berlin. 21 November 2022. Tele Columbus and 1&1 have announced a new long-term wholesale framework agreement. In this partnership the nationwide transport network of 1&1 Versatel GmbH will be connected to Tele Columbus‘ regional city networks. Thereafter 1&1 will be able to offer households high-speed internet connections featuring an internet-enabled Tele Columbus cable or fibre connection as of April 2023.

Housing tenants with Tele Columbus internet connections will soon be able to purchase 1&1 products and services. For 1&1, the new cooperation agreement opens up additional marketing potential of more than 2 million households currently, with fixed-line products offering peak bandwidths of up to 1,000 Mbit/s. Tele Columbus benefits from an even higher network penetration.

“The network opening from April 2023 is widening the choice of broadband products and offers a genuine added value for our housing association partners and all of their tenants,” explains Dr Daniel Ritz, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Board of Tele Columbus AG. “At the same time we are thrilled to be working with such a strong and well-known brand as 1&1.”

“Through the cooperation with Tele Columbus, we are able to further increase our coverage with fast broadband connections. In addition to Tele Columbus' existing fibre and cable connections, we will also have access to fibre connections that will be built by Tele Columbus in the future. We look forward to working together to provide even more German households with fast and reliable internet connections," says Ralph Dommermuth, CEO of 1&1 AG.

To create the necessary technical and organisational interfaces to allow seamless purchasing and service workflows is already well underway. From a technical perspective, the 1&1 internet signal will be fed into multiple central Tele Columbus network points and passed through to customer households.

1&1 AG is one of the leading providers of high-performance broadband services in Germany, with over four million customers. 1&1 AG as well as 1&1 Versatel GmbH both belong to the United Internet group, itself a stock listed company in Germany. United Internet (with 40%) as well as Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (with 60%) are shareholders in Kublai GmbH. Following the public tender offer in 2021, Kublai is the majority shareholder in Tele Columbus AG with around 95%.

Tele Columbus builds, operates and markets fibre-optic, cable-based broadband networks, providing internet to around 2.3 million homes. An increasing number of internet connections are currently being upgraded to handle gigabit speeds. In addition, Tele Columbus continues to work with housing associations to expand its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) infrastructure.

About 1&1 AG

1&1 AG is a listed telecommunications provider based in Montabaur. The company is part of the United Internet AG group. 1&1 offers its customers a comprehensive portfolio of wireless services and broadband access. It also offers attractive bundled products comprising mobile and fixed-network services, as well as value-added applications such as home networking, online storage, video-on-demand, smart home solutions and IPTV. While the brand 1&1 addresses value and premium segments, the Group's discount brands appeal to a price-conscious target groups.

Following its successful participation in the 5G frequency auction, 1&1 is now building the most innovative mobile network in Europe based on the new OpenRAN technology.

About Tele Columbus AG

Tele Columbus AG is one of Germany’s leading fibre network operators which reaches more than 3 million homes. Via its brand PŸUR, the Company, offers high-speed internet including telephony and more than 200 TV channels. All of this via a digital entertainment platform that combines linear TV with video on demand entertainment. To its housing association partners the Tele Columbus Group offers tailored models of cooperation and state-of-the-art services such as telemetric and tenant portals. As a full-service partner for municipalities and regional utilities, the Company is actively supporting the fibre-based infrastructure and broadband internet expansion in Germany. For its business customers the Group offers carrier services and corporate solutions on its proprietary fibre network. Besides its headquarter in Berlin, the Company has locations in Hamburg, Leipzig, Ratingen and Unterföhring/Munich.

Press Contact
Lisa Pleiß
Head of Corporate Communications
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