On 21 March, District Administrator Markus Bauer welcomed the mayors, mayors of the municipalities and representatives of the towns and municipalities as well as the State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Science and Digitalisation and the telecommunications companies carrying out the construction work to the district council meeting room in Saxony-Anhalt to sign the broadband expansion contracts.
The Salzland district is expanding the broadband network as part of a profitability gap model with the help of federal broadband funding from the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI). Together with the municipalities and communities involved, the district is creating sustainable infrastructures that support rural areas in particular. District Administrator Markus Bauer stated: “With the signing, the district and municipalities are sealing a decisive step forward into the digital age.” A total of 32 million euros will be invested in the infrastructure project. The federal broadband funding program of the BMVI is supporting the expansion with almost 6 million euros. The state is funding the project with almost 9 million euros.
The aim of the Salzland district is to connect over 36,000 households, 34 schools, four hospitals and over 3,800 companies to high-speed Internet with bandwidths of at least 50 Mbit/s. To achieve this, 274 kilometers of civil engineering work is to be carried out and 1,636 kilometers of fiber optic cable and 509 kilometers of empty conduits are to be laid.
Photo: The partners for the broadband expansion in the Salzland district: representatives of the municipalities, the Salzland district, the state, on behalf of the federal government and the telecommunications companies signed the broadband expansion contracts on 21.03.2018.
Photo credit: Salzland district press office, Alexandra Koch