General terms and conditions and rate provisions

1. Who needs to notify of general terms and conditions and rate provisions?

In general, every provider of publicly available electronic communication services is obliged to issue general terms and conditions (GTCs) and rate provisions, including a description of the services offered. Both general terms and conditions and rate provisions must be published in suitable (electronic) form (cf. Art. 7 para. 1 of Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services; VKND). The description of the services offered may also be provided as a separate specification sheet which is considered part of the GTCs.  

Providers are also obliged to notify the Office for Communications of GTCs and rate provisions prior to their application (cf. Art. 7 para. 1 and para. 8 of Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services). The aforementioned obligations also apply to changes made to GTCs or rate provisions (cf. Art. 7 para. 2 and para. 8 of Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services).

In summary, the following points must be observed when submitting a notification to the Office for Communications:

• The obligation to notify of or publish rate provisions applies to providers to the extent that it concerns standardised services for consumers, microenterprises and small businesses. Individual or customised solutions for other companies are not subject to notification or publication.
• If changes are to be made to GTC or rate provisions that are not exclusively favourable to the end user, a notification and publication period of two months (cf. Art. 7 para. 2 of Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services) applies. The provisions of the General Civil Code and the Consumer Protection Act remain unaffected.
• The essential content of non-exclusively favourable changes must be communicated to consumers at least one month before the change takes effect and in suitable form, for example by printing it on a periodic invoice. At the same time, consumers must be informed of the date on which the changes come into force and of their right to terminate the contract free of charge until that date. The full text of the changes must be provided to consumers (cf. Art. 7 para. 3 of Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services).
• After notification of GTC and rate provisions, changes might still required following the review by the Office for Communications (cf. Art. 7 para. 7 of Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services). It is therefore recommended to use contract terms for business purposes only after the completion of the final review by the Office for Communications (after receipt of the final letter).

2. Which providers must make a notification?

Pursuant to Art. 3 para. 1 (2) of the Communications Act, a provider according to Art. 7 of the Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services is anyone who commercially offers an electronic communications service to third parties (service provider).

Art. 3 para. 1 (8) of the Communications Act defines an "electronic communications service" as a service normally provided for remuneration which consists wholly or mainly of the conveyance of signals on electronic communications networks, including telecommunications services and transmission services in networks used for broadcasting. It does not include information society services, as defined in the legislation on electronic commerce, which do not consist wholly or mainly of the conveyance of signals on electronic communications networks.

A "publicly available electronic communications service" means, according to Art. 3  para. 1 (10) of the Communications Act, an electronic communications service made available to the general public, including a publicly available telephone service.

A "publicly available telephone service" means, according to Art. 3 para. 1 (11) of the Communications Act, a publicly available electronic communications service for originating and receiving national and international calls to be made directly or indirectly via one or more numbers of a national or international telephone numbering plan.

Furthermore, providers of internet access services as defined in Art. 2 (2) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2120[1] are also covered. Accordingly, an "internet access service" is a publicly available electronic communications service that provides access to the internet, and thereby connectivity to virtually all end points of the internet, irrespective of the network technology and terminal equipment used.

3. Which providers and which services are exempt from the notification obligation?

• Providers who provide networks and/or associated facilities on a commercial basis or have a corresponding authorisation (cf. Art. 3 para. 1 (2) of Communications Act) are exempt from the notification obligation.
• According to Art. 7 para. 9 of the Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services, providers of broadcasting services, with the exception of Art. 7 para. 4 let. a to e of the Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services, are exempt from the notification obligation.
• Furthermore, providers are exempt whose provided services do not correspond to the main business purpose of the associated legal transaction, but represent only a minor ancillary service and thus play a subordinate role (example: a hotel/restaurant offering WIFI use to its guests).
• Furthermore, no rate provision notification is required for customised solutions for companies.

4. In which form should the notification be made?

Notifications to the Office for Communications must be sent by e-mail to [email protected]. 

The following points must be observed when making a notification:

• The subject line of the e-mail must contain the name of the notifying provider and indicate that it is a notification according to Art. 7 para. 2 in conjunction with para. 8 of the Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services.
• The e-mail text must explain whether it is an initial notification or a change notification.
• GTCs and rate provisions must be sent as a Word and PDF document in the e-mail attachment.
• In cases of change notifications for GTCs and rate provisions, the changed provisions must be highlighted in a Word document using Track Changes or must otherwise be clearly and comprehensibly identified.
• In addition, it is requested that the final version (the version which you intend to use in your business transactions) of the GTCs or rate provisions be submitted as a PDF document.

5. Which deadlines apply for notification?

In cases of initial notifications or change notifications in which the GTCs or rate provisions are amended in a way that is only beneficial for the customer (referring to "exclusively favourable changes", in which no single GTC provision or no fee or rate is changed adversely), it is sufficient to send the GTCs and rate provisions to the Office for Communications at the time of their entry into force at the latest ("to be notified before their application") (cf. Art. 7 para. 1 and 2 of Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services).

In cases of changes to GTCs or rate provisions which are disadvantageous for the customer in any form or at any point ("not exclusively favourable amendments"; even if only one of several GTC or rate provisions is adversely amended), the GTCs or rate provisions must be communicated to the Office for Communications two months prior to their entry into force ("notification and publication period of two months") (cf. Art. 7 para. 2 of Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services).

In addition, the essential content of the non-exclusive favourable changes must be communicated to consumers at least one month before the change comes into force and in appropriate form, for example by printing it on a periodic invoice. At the same time, consumers must be informed of the date of entry into force of the changes and of their right to terminate the contract free of charge until that date. The full text of the changes must be provided to consumers. (cf. Art. 7 para. 3 of Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services).

6. How quickly will the Office for Communications respond?

The Office for Communications usually processes initial notifications as well as change notifications regarding GTCs and rate provisions within 6 weeks.

• The Office for Communications may object to individual provisions of the GTCs and rate provisions at any time if they obviously contradict communications legislation, Sections 864a and 879 of the General Civil Code, and Articles 8 and 11 of the Consumer Protection Act. Responsibility to review GTCs under other legal acts remains unaffected.

7. What happens after notification?

The Office for Communications reviews the notified GTCs and rate provisions for their conformity with applicable legal requirements. The review is based on the Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services as well as Sections 864a and 879 of the General Civil Code, Art. 8 and 11 of the Consumer Protection Act, and Art. 4 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2120.

The notified GTCs and rate provisions will be checked by the Office for Communications for the aforementioned mandatory minimum information. The checklists for minimum information for GTCs and rate provisions (see downloads below) help you to identify before submitting your notification whether or not it contains the required minimum content.

We recommend to have the GTCs and rate provisions reviewed by a legal expert, in particular for compliance with consumer protection provisions, prior to the notification to the Office for Communications.

• Changes must be clearly and comprehensibly highlighted in cases of notifications of changes made to GTCs and rate provisions.

Approval of the GTCs according to Art. 41 of the Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services will be refused if they obviously contradict communications legislation, Sections 864a and 879 of the General Civil Code, and Articles 8 and 11 of the Consumer Protection Act. Responsibility to review GTCs under other legal acts remains unaffected. (cf. Art. 41 para. 6 of Ordinance on Electronic Communication Networks and Services).

• In any case, an objection causes the prohibition of further use of the GTCs.
• In cases of change notifications, the Office for Communications only reviews the changes (and inseparably connected parts thereof) made to the contractual terms and conditions (GTCs, rate provisions or specifications) for their compliance with the review standard. A review of all contract terms is not possible with change notifications.

8. What consequences does a failure to notify have?

If a provider fails to comply with their notification obligation (non-compliance), it is considered an administrative offence and triggers non-compliance proceedings. Please note that non-compliance with the notification obligation can be punished with fines and disobedience penalties.  

To accelerate the notification process, please complete and submit the checklist along with the initial notification or change notification regarding your GTCs and/or rate provisions by email to [email protected].

Notification of general terms and conditions (initial or change; in German)

Notification of rate provisions (initial or change; in German)

[1] Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 laying down measures concerning open internet access and amending Directive 2002/22/EC on universal service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services and Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union, OJ L 2015/310.

Last amended: January 2022