BT has hit out at moves by Deutsche Telekom to seek “protection” from the German regulator for its €3 billion (£2 billion) investment in a super-advanced new telecoms network.

The telecoms group said that Telekom’s request to be allowed to keep its network closed to competition was “remarkable”.

BT also said that such requests risked holding back the creation of new competition and services in other countries and damaging their economies.

Deutsche Telekom, which recently announced plans to cut 32,000 jobs, has asked the German regulator for permission not to open its new fibre-optic lines to competition.

It said that it wants the network to remain closed to “enable it to recoup its hefty investment on the . . . network upgrade and boost its competitive edge”.

It has also given warning that being forced to open up the network could force it to cut up to 5,000 jobs.

Sir Christopher Bland, chairman of BT, which offers services to corporate customers in Germany, said: “We are not saying we want greater protection in the UK. We are saying that the kind of access allowed to our network in UK, we should be entitled to globally.”

BT was also one of a group of companies that lobbied hard in America over the way that a recent spate of telecoms mergers was conducted there, fearing restricted access to networks.

Yesterday the European Competitive Telecoms Association called on EU policymakers to ensure that the roll-out of new networks was handled in a fair and competitive way.