The section of line between the local exchange and the house connection is referred to in telecommunications as the "last mile". While almost all exchanges are connected with fast fiber optic cables, the "last mile" is mostly copper cable to the end customer, which reduces the speed a little at the end. For historical reasons, the last mile is usually owned by regional or national providers such as Deutsche Telekom, so that other providers who want to provide the end customer with a telephone or Internet connection have to rent this last section. In Germany, the prices for this advance service are determined by the BNetzA regulated.