Germany has set a goal of providing nationwide internet with speeds of at least 50 megabits per second (mbit/s) in 2018 but the technology relied on by market leader Deutsche Telekom - based on the old copper telephone network - cannot be easily upgraded further. That makes it harder to realize the vision of a “Gigabit society” in which all businesses and households would have access to superfast glass fiber connections by 2025 - at a cost of 80 billion euros ($95 billion) or more. Addressing a news conference, Homann conceded that Germany was “pretty much at the back” of the international field when it comes to access to glass-fiber internet. He said the BNetzA was considering a more flexible regulatory regime on glass fiber that would allow companies to cooperate in building out the network to save costs, and depart from strict cost-plus rules on pricing. Read the full story here.