Lüdersburg, a municipality in the joint municipality of Scharnebeck, was the venue for the start of the expansion of the fiber optic network in the district of Lüneburg. The symbolic ground-breaking ceremony took place in front of the volunteer fire department building on June 11, 2018. District Administrator Manfred Nahrstedt, Monika Scherf, State Commissioner for Regional Development, First District Councillor Jürgen Krumböhmer, Mayor of the joint municipality Laars Gerstenkorn (Scharnebeck), project coordinators from the district of Lüneburg, representatives of the operating, executing and planning company and Matthias Schulze-Mantei, aconium GmbH, the sovereign project sponsor of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), took part in the event.
The expansion project, the planning of which was largely driven forward from Lüdersburg, will create the basic framework for the digital future of the region – in addition to the quality of life, the availability of future-proof digital infrastructure will also increase land values. A total of 28 municipalities in the district therefore decided to implement the broadband expansion using the economic gap model. Monika Scherf emphasized how important the expansion is for rural areas and cited an example from medical care, which in the future could also take place in part via the Internet. A fast network is also economically important for the district of Lüneburg, as it helps to secure jobs. Matthias Schulze-Mantei added that the expansion of the digital infrastructure in the district of Lüneburg creates an economic basis that represents a decisive locational advantage for the development of the region.
The federal government is subsidizing the infrastructure project as part of the funding application with 15 million euros from the federal broadband funding programme. By the time the project is completed, 1,669 kilometers of new ducts and 4,665 kilometers of fiber optic cable will have been laid. Upon completion, more than 14,000 households and over 100 companies as well as 60 schools will benefit from data transfer rates of at least 50 Mbit/s.
Photo: Starting signal for the fiber optic expansion in the district of Lüneburg: District Administrator Manfred Nahrstedt (center), joint municipality mayor Laars Gerstenkorn (left), Monika Scherf (State Commissioner for Regional Development, right), Matthias Schulze-Mantei (aconium, 2nd from left) and a representative of the expanding telecommunications company at the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony in Lüdersburg on 11.06.2018.
Photo credit: District of Lüneburg