Regulation and Competition Law

This includes fundamental work on telecommunications law in the field of net neutrality in the context of internet access services. In this context, the admissibility of so-called deprioritisation clauses and measures taken by internet access service providers at the network interconnection level in accordance with the "Open Internet Regulation" were analysed. The research group also analysed the applicability of the new secrecy of telecommunications to employers who provide telecommunications services to their employees.

Research at ZEI also focusses on current legal issues around digital markets and platform regulation. As digitisation progresses, the mobility sector is also undergoing significant changes. In connection with the market ramp-up of autonomous driving, the research group examined the question of whether and to what extent this is subject to telecommunications regulation in order to best support the development and mass marketability of the new technologies. In the field of rail transport, the development of new types of mobility services is increasing, which are focussed on the distribution level and are taking their place alongside conventional transport and infrastructure services. Multimodal digital mobility services increase the attractiveness of the public mobility sector and contribute to sustainable, demand-orientated and climate-friendly passenger transport. As there is currently no effective competition at the distribution level in the railway sector compared to related regulated network industries such as the energy or telecommunications sector, the research group investigated the possibility of extending sector-specific regulation to the distribution level and supplementing it with specific regulatory instruments in order to enable and guarantee effective competition at the distribution level in the long term.