Society is calling for internet reforms
Gavin Allanwood, Unsplash
In Luxembourg, the collection of signatures for public petition No. 4019 has officially begun; the petition calls for radical changes to the rules governing the telecommunications market. The author of the initiative, Oleksandr Borysov, proposes introducing a legal limit of six months on the maximum term of home internet contracts, as well as strictly regulating fees for early termination.
The complaint was prompted by the onerous financial conditions faced by local residents when attempting to switch providers. Currently, a standard fibre-optic contract is for a minimum of 24 months. Furthermore, if a user decides to terminate the agreement early, operators impose penalties calculated as a percentage of all remaining monthly payments. For a tariff costing €50 per month, the penalty can amount to as much as €1,200.
It is worth noting that such penalties are imposed regardless of the subscriber’s personal circumstances. Financial difficulties, moving to an area with no coverage for a particular network, or poor connection quality do not exempt the consumer from these charges. Consequently, the entire commercial risk is borne entirely by the customer, whilst the service provider bears no risk whatsoever.
I have been working in telecoms for many years. I believe that a two-year lock-in period significantly reduces subscriber mobility, thereby reducing competition. Across the European Union, broadband prices are falling by around 5% a year, whereas in Luxembourg they are actually rising. And let’s not forget that the contract usually includes a TV package, which by no means everyone uses at present. The problem is that you cannot assess the quality of the services until you have signed the contract. And signing it already places you within a rigid framework from which there is no adequate way out.
Boris Bliznyukov, a researcher at the University of Luxembourg
The limited choice is exacerbated by the specific characteristics of the local market. Luxembourg’s largest fibre-optic operators offer identical two-year contract terms, even though they nominally position themselves as commercial competitors. As the national fibre-optic infrastructure is shared, alternative providers effectively lease access to the same network, which restricts competition on terms and conditions. Nevertheless, there is an operator on the market with its own coaxial cable infrastructure that successfully offers tariffs without a fixed commitment period, proving the commercial viability of such a model.
The petition cites the European Electronic Communications Code as its legal basis. Directive 2018/1972 sets 24 months as the maximum permissible limit, not merely as a recommended standard. European legislation allows Member States to impose stricter restrictions at national level. Contrary to Luxembourg’s practice, Denmark has already limited similar contracts for individuals to six months, whilst in other neighbouring countries, offers without long-term commitments have become the commercial norm.
The petition was declared admissible by the relevant committee on 13 May 2026. The collection of signatures began on 14 May and will continue until 24 June 2026. If successful, the initiative will oblige Luxembourg’s legislators to consider amendments limiting the penalty for early termination to only the provider’s actually documented costs.
