The head of Germany’s competition authority revealed the regulator was assessing a proposed agreement between Deutsche Telekom (DT) and Vodafone Germany to share network facilities in areas with limited LTE coverage, Handelsblatt reported.

In an interview with the newspaper, Bundeskartellamt president Andreas Mundt said the organisation was canvassing opinion on the agreement, with potential concerns it could put rivals Telefonica Deutschland and 1&1 Drillisch at a competitive disadvantage.

The deal was struck in February and will mean the deployment of active network sharing at 4,000 antennas in LTE grey spots, areas where users can only receive a stable 4G signal from one of the two operators.

At the time DT said the project was designed to “create a better mobile experience for customers of both companies” in rural areas and along major traffic routes.

The agreement is independent from a pact signed by the pair and Telefonica Deutschland in November to deploy 6,000 masts in rural areas and traffic routes with no coverage at all.