A study by the auditing and consulting network Ernst & Young (EY) comes to the conclusion that most broadband coordination offices want to continue to actively use funding and rely on previously used funding models.
In the study “Insights into German broadband coordination”, the broadband coordination offices of 401 districts and independent cities in Germany were contacted by email in November; 111 responded. The coordination offices are an important player in broadband expansion in Germany, but have different responsibilities depending on the region. Most federal states have a coordination office. The public administration takes on important tasks in coordinating the expansion projects of various telecommunications companies as well as the administration and use of funding programs. As the project management agency of the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport, aconium GmbH is responsible for the federal states of Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein. The goal by 2030 is the nationwide expansion with fiber optics.
Depending on the federal state, the coordination of broadband expansion takes place at different levels, in Saxony-Anhalt, for example, much more at state level and in Bavaria mainly at municipal level. In contrast, funding and expansion in Lower Saxony is mostly organized by the districts. The willingness to respond varied accordingly. According to EY, the central region is particularly well represented with 35% of responses, while the southern region is underrepresented (14% responded). This should not be forgotten when considering the results.
Almost all participants in the study (97%) have used the funding from the white-spot program and a large proportion (71%) plan to use its successor, the grey-spot funding program, with 60% waiting for the funding threshold to be raised. The broadband coordination offices that have already used an operator model in the past are also planning to do so in the grey-spot program.
There is no alternative to fiber optic expansion
Another interesting conclusion of the study is: “In the medium term, there is no alternative to FTTB/FTTH expansion.” However, the current proportion of fiber optics is still insufficient. This is precisely why the federal, state and municipal funding programs exist. The authors of the study formulate two core theses: “The coordination of self-sufficient and subsidized fiber optic expansion at district level by public administrations is a key success factor for targeted self-sufficient expansion and the efficient use of subsidies for nationwide FTTH solutions. By weighing up expansion options and actively coordinating the self-service expansion requests from TCUs at district level, the coordination offices make a significant contribution to the reliable implementation of the most comprehensive solutions possible and the efficient use of subsidies.”
However, according to the authors of the study, the high level of activity on the FTTH market could open up a large part of today’s “subsidized areas” economically.
Nora Simon, Head of Overall Coordination within aconium GmbH’s project management business, comments: “Private-sector expansion always has priority – but in areas where it is already foreseeable today that they cannot be developed profitably, there is no time to lose and funding should be used at an early stage.”
A clear result and nationwide consensus is that nationwide expansion is by far the most important factor in enabling digital participation throughout Germany. In addition, the future viability of the network concept and the reliability of the networks must be guaranteed.