[hcknwscommenter]

I mean, maybe? It is a huge stretch to tie a specific event (auction and the related debt) to the ensuing 20 years worth of telecom infrastructure investment. This implies (incorrectly) that there are no other significant reasons Germany might lag in mobile network investment.

[watt]

It fits, though. It's like the opposite of subsidizing an industry: saddling it with a crippling debt instead. And yes, Germany has awful telecom infrastructure, and lags behind the likes of Spain or Czechia horribly.

All because telcos here need to recoup the initial "investment" and are not getting to the newest tech while everybody else is.