(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Telekom AG boss Tim Hoettges took a shot at Germany’s fourth mobile operator 1&1 AG, describing the newcomer’s much-delayed 5G network as “just one big white spot.”

While Hoettges didn’t explicitly name 1&1, he called out the nation’s newest network for struggling to roll out its own 5G infrastructure after winning spectrum in 2019, leaving large parts of the country uncovered. This is despite coming from a “privileged perspective” with some of the best spectrum, Hoettges said at Deutsche Telekom’s annual general meeting on Wednesday.

His criticism strikes at a long-running problem for Europe’s biggest telecom companies. Regulators have pushed back against dealmaking in individual EU countries and favored awarding spectrum to new entrants to bolster competition. Incumbents say this hurts their ability to grow and invest. The Deutsche Telekom CEO is one of the more vocal proponents of consolidation on the continent.

1&1 was awarded spectrum by German regulators following the merger between Telefonica SA and E-Plus and purchased 5G spectrum as part of its push to build its own network. But the company has struggled to meet its own 5G antenna installation targets and signed roaming agreements with rivals in order to roll out service. “This other operator rarely builds a network of its own,” Hoettges said.

While criticizing 1&1 for its struggles, Hoettges said his own company’s network investments have “not proven to be profitable.”

Deutsche Telekom is Europe’s largest telecom company, boasting a market capitalization more than four times its biggest European competitors combined thanks in large part to a majority stake in US mobile operator T-Mobile US Inc.

Hoettges also decried that mobile operators who lease their networks from major operators in Germany are now pushing the government to regulate prices “as low as possible.” This, he said, would mean: “You lease, you win; you build, you lose.”

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