In
this article, Dr. Spies reports about complaints that several organizations (CompTel, USCIB) have filed against Germany and other countries with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in December. He reports that CompTel, the largest U.S.-based competitive carriers association, complains that the German government is not doing its job to regulate the incumbent Deutsche Telekom, in particular in the areas of leased lines provisioning and bitstream access. In addition to various delays and matters that are bogged down at the German regulatory agency BNetzA and the German administrative courts, CompTel complains that Deutsche Telekom is trying to push competitors out of the market by the excessive terms and conditions it imposes on its DSL customers and various delays in switching DSL lines over to competitors. A USTR report addressing these issues is slated to be released in early April. Bingham represents various parties in this USTR proceeding.