FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Vodafone's deal to open up its German broadband network marks a transparent attempt to save its $22 billion (16.8 billion pounds) deal to acquire European assets from Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA), Deutsche Telekom (DE:DTEGn) said on Tuesday, slamming the move.
Vodafone (LON:VOD) said earlier it would give Telefonica (MC:TEF) Deutschland wholesale access to its high-speed network to try to win approval from European Union competition regulators for the Liberty deal.
"The proposal by Vodafone is apparently an attempt to rescue a merger that raises major concerns in the European Commission," Deutsche Telekom, the German market leader, said in a statement.
The proposal would not lead to a single additional broadband cable being laid in Germany, Deutsche Telekom added, saying it could even slow work to build out super-fast fibre-optic networks - a government priority.