At the ground-breaking ceremony for the broadband expansion in the district of Limburg-Weilburg on June 19, 2018, some of those present felt like they had been transported back to their school days, as the Adolf Reichwein School in Limburg an der Lahn was chosen for the ceremonial launch of the district-wide infrastructure project. Digitalization also plays an important role for schools and the shift towards new digital learning methods is finding its way into the classroom. The development of broadband infrastructure is essential for this development, as Verena Scharf, Representative of aconium GmbH, the official project management agency of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), emphasized in her speech at the ground-breaking ceremony.
The expansion of the high-speed Internet connection in the district of Limburg-Weilburg is being funded with almost 1.2 million euros – almost 50 percent of the project costs – by the federal broadband funding program of the BMVI. In addition, the federal state of Hesse is providing over 970,000 euros and the local authorities are contributing just under 240,000 euros. The aim of the federal funding program is to provide incentives for the The aim is to establish a sustainable network structure, particularly in rural regions, which are usually inadequately developed by the private sector. In the Hessian district of Limburg-Weilburg, 325 households, 184 companies and 74 schools are to benefit from transmission rates of more than 50 Mbit/s.
At the event in Limburg an der Lahn, the relevance of a fast internet connection, Wi-Fi and 5G for schools was emphasized by all speakers. “Schools will find different working conditions than we are used to,” explained State Secretary Mathias Samson (Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development), adding: “It is our duty to equip them with technology.” Once the project is completed, 28 kilometers of fiber optic lines and 66 kilometers of empty conduit routes will provide the infrastructure for future-proof teaching methods, among other things. According to District Administrator Manfred Michel, the district of Limburg-Weilburg is one of the first districts in Germany to equip its schools with this forward-looking infrastructure by connecting its schools to fiber optics. He sees the district as a pioneer for broadband expansion in Hesse.
In addition to State Secretary Samson and District Administrator Michel, principal Ralf Abel (Adolf-Reichwein-Schule), Martin Rudersdorf (broadband coordinator of the district of Limburg-Weilburg), Verena Scharf (aconium) and a representative of the responsible telecommunications company took up the spade. “This is a milestone that we have to celebrate today,” emphasized State Secretary Samson, according to whom this project is the result of professional and good cooperation between municipalities in the Limburg-Weilburg district, the state of Hesse and the federal government.
Photo r-l: Headmaster Ralf Abel (Adolf-Reichwein-Schule), Martin Rudersdorf (Broadband Coordinator of the district of Limburg-Weilburg), District Administrator Manfred Michel (district of Limburg-Weilburg), State Secretary Mathias Samson (Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development), Verena Scharf (aconium) with a representative of the responsible telecommunications company at the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony for the district of Limburg-Weilburg on 19.06.2018 in Limburg an der Lahn.
Photo credit: aconium GmbH