German operators could be slapped with fines for failing to meet coverage targets set during a spectrum auction in 2015, following a review by the country’s communications regulator, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported.

The newspaper noted following an extension of a deadline to meet various commitments until the end of 2020, regulator Bundesnetzagentur was in the process of assessing legal moves because seamless coverage along train routes and highways was still not in place.

Its revelations come from a document sent from the authority to its political advisory board. It is unclear which providers, if any, have met the required level of coverage across transport routes.

The commitments were made as part of the terms in an auction of 4G spectrum for 4G.

In April 2020 operators were threatened with action if they failed to meet missed targets around connecting households and travel routes by an extended deadline of the year-end.

At the time Vodafone Germany, Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica Deutschland had fallen short of targets meant to have been completed by 1 January 2020.

Since then operators have hit several household targets, though in August 2020 Telefonica warned it faced challenges on the transport portion of its commitment.