Telefonica Deutschland avoided the wrath of Germany’s communications regulator by hitting its latest 4G coverage target, though the operator noted it still faced challenges fulfilling a commitment to connect transport routes.

In April, Bundesnetzagentur announced both Deutsche Telekom (DT) and Telefonica Deutschland had missed minimum 4G coverage requirements set as part of a 2015 spectrum auction. It threatened fines should the situation not be rectified by the end of the year.

Operators were also set interim targets for the end of September to check their progress. By an update in August, DT had already met its domestic household target with Telefonica still 2,660 base stations short.

At the time both operators were still to achieve the requirement to connect all major traffic routes in the country (they have to ensure a signal across roads and railway tracks).

In a statement, Telefonica Deutschland announced it had exceeded its end of September household connection goal and was on track to complete the full requirement for this segment by the end of 2020.

However, the operator said on supplying traffic routes it faced “additional challenges,” adding there were issues around finding appropriate locations for infrastructure.

Problems include navigating areas reserved for nature conservation and the co-ordination required with a range of local authorities, businesses, railway companies and other interested parties.