The “Gigabit Strategy HESSEN” consultation workshop on 15 February in Frankfurt am Main focused on the realization of the gigabit society in the state of Hesse. As in the past, the state is relying on the support of all those involved in the process in order to successfully embark on this path together.
The event was organized by the Hesse Broadband Office. Among the participants were representatives of the Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development as well as regional broadband coordinators and recipients of the federal broadband funding program. State Secretary Mathias Samson, Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development, welcomed the participants and emphasized the economic importance of expanding the digital infrastructure in Hesse. This is a key location factor for the future, especially for rural areas.
The workshop then took place in the form of a World Café. Reasons and objectives of the Hessian gigabit strategy were developed at themed islands, measures taken by the state were evaluated by the participants and the distribution of tasks and roles were discussed. At many points during the consultation workshop, it became clear that the expansion of digital infrastructure requires the cooperation of all stakeholders. A clear distribution of roles and responsibilities between the federal government, EU, BNetzA, telecommunications companies, the state of Hesse, the municipalities and municipal bodies as well as citizens and companies is just as essential for the successful realization of the goal of the gigabit society in Hesse as productive dialogue between these players.
The expectations of the stakeholders operating in Hesse were also discussed in the course of the topic islands. Following the World Café, Georg Matzner, Head of Division at the Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development, made it clear that the points developed in the workshop will first be politically coordinated and then incorporated into the Hessian gigabit strategy. He praised “the high level of cooperation in all matters within the broadband family”; only in this way could development progress.
In conclusion, Wolfram Koch, Head of the Broadband Office Hesse, also thanked the participants for their cooperation and praised the results of the consultation workshop. These were an excellent foundation for the implementation of further goals and the completion of the gigabit strategy.
Photo: Jörg Karnelka (Managing Director Breitband-Main-Kinzig GmbH), Manfred Henning (Regional Manager Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate aconium GmbH), Verena Scharf (aconium GmbH), Wolfram Koch (Head of the Broadband Office Hesse)
Photo credit: aconium GmbH