Photo: City of Fulda
- Numerous schools are to be supplied with high-performance fiber optic connections by the end of 2020 and additional connections in mid-2021
- District praises cooperation with project sponsor aconium
- Those responsible are now planning a “digital building authority”
As the project sponsor for the federal broadband funding program on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), aconium GmbH is supporting broadband expansion in the district of Fulda (Hesse). The district of Fulda recognized the high relevance of fast Internet for citizens and companies at a very early stage and for this reason, among other things, installed its own broadband coordinator. The district was the first of all German districts and independent cities to receive funding from the federal broadband funding program (“Funding to support broadband expansion in the Federal Republic of Germany”). The notification for almost 10 million euros was handed over by the BMVI in December 2016. The total investment planned by the federal government, the state of Hesse and the district of Fulda was initially just under 17 million euros.
Photo: Landkreis Fulda / M. Seidel
“The nationwide coverage we want in rural areas is not an economically viable business for a commercial provider,” says District Administrator Bernd Woide. “That’s why the complete expansion is only possible through the provision of public funding.” For District Administrator Woide, the motivation for the district’s high level of commitment is obvious: “Areas without fast Internet have no long-term future. Fast broadband is the key to the digital world. In our progressive society, this is a significant factor in determining the quality of life, competitiveness and future viability of a region.”
Now that large parts of the original expansion project have already been successfully completed, 53 schools in the district of Fulda, a further eight schools in the city of Fulda and other connections in the district are to be supplied with direct gigabit fibre optic connections (FTTH) in a new expansion phase. The additional households and businesses that have been added – around 170 to 190 subscribers in total – have not yet been able to be connected due to the very long distances to be covered and very remote locations, among other reasons. In these cases, only a direct connection with fiber optic technology appears to make sense.
This shows the “problem” of the district of Fulda: the distribution of inhabitants in the East Hessian region is very uneven. While half of the district’s population lives in the densely populated area around the city of Fulda, which covers 225 square kilometers, the remaining 1,155 square kilometers are very sparsely populated. Some of the small districts and hamlets are very far apart. The abundance of forests and the challenging topography of the district, with differences in altitude of over 700 meters, make civil engineering measures even more difficult. The free market therefore did not want to provide the district of Fulda with a comprehensive broadband infrastructure. It is precisely for such cases, in which a market-driven, self-economically realized broadband expansion does not take place, that the federal government has created the federal broadband subsidy.
Photo: District of Fulda / A. Bieneck
The district has applied for new funding – around 1.5 million euros – as part of the amended federal broadband funding program for the development of households and companies not yet covered. This expansion is to be completed by mid-2021. The schools not yet connected with direct fiber optic connections are to be supplied with gigabit bandwidths by the end of 2020.
District Administrator Bernd Woide praises the good and targeted cooperation with the employees of aconium GmbH as the project sponsor of the federal broadband funding program. “We receive solution-oriented support from the employees of aconium GmbH at all times. This has enabled us to overcome all challenges on the way to nationwide broadband expansion in the district of Fulda together. We are proud to be one of the absolute pioneers when it comes to broadband funding.”
Photo left: Hessian State Chancellery; Photo right: District of Fulda / C. Erb
Photo: District of Fulda
Broadband Coordinator Christof Erb already has the benefits of broadband expansion firmly in his sights: “In addition to schools, hospitals, care facilities and other institutional users, the town halls in the district must also be provided with high-performance broadband connections. On this basis, we want to set up a ‘digital building authority’ as the first successful example of a digitalized administration.” The Fulda district and all 23 municipalities in the district are working together on the “digital building authority”. The main aims are to digitalize and optimize work processes in the building authorities, improve communication between the individual offices and administrations and provide more services for citizens via dedicated online services that can be accessed around the clock, regardless of office opening hours.