The Baden-Württemberg municipality of Zimmern ob Rottweil is doing well. The population is growing, new commercial and industrial settlements have created jobs – this idyllic region on the edge of the Black Forest has been successfully defying the current demographic change for years. One reason for this is the good connection to transport with access to highway 81, which leads from western Lake Constance to Stuttgart. In conjunction with the business-oriented location policy and the commitment of the educational institutions and chambers in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg technology region, this has led to numerous companies settling here. Today, the seven business parks and the various districts of Zimmern o. R. offer a mix of trades, commerce, services and manufacturing. Complemented by cultural and leisure facilities, this has created the basis for working and living in the region. However, Mayor Carmen Merz realized early on that a few more steps would be needed to continue this development.
In the age of digitalisation, industrial companies as well as the skilled trades and numerous service providers are dependent on high-performance network access in order to keep up with national and international competition. What’s more, “good digital coverage is now a decisive factor in people’s choice of where to live,” explains Merz, making it clear that this is an attractiveness factor for a region that should not be underestimated, especially in times of a shortage of skilled workers. High data transmission rates are by no means only important for the centre of Zimmern, but are also essential in the surrounding areas, i.e. in the districts of Horgen, Flözlingen and Stetten. All citizens, commercial settlements and sub-districts should participate in digital development. The municipal administration of Zimmern o. R. has therefore been vigorously promoting the expansion of the network in the entire municipality for years. Further training and seminars on the implementation of broadband expansion have been attended, an empty conduit infrastructure for fiber optic cables has been created and contact has been established with the state parliament in Stuttgart. This commitment is now bearing fruit. Thanks to the initiative of the district of Rottweil, which opened up the white spots in the region with the support of the federal broadband funding program, it was possible for the municipality to connect all sub-districts with fibre optic lines. The expansion in the district of Rottweil was carried out in a total of eight construction phases. The eighth and final expansion area was connected to the network at a ceremony in Schenkenzell – around 30 kilometers northwest of Zimmern o. R. – at the beginning of April. “With financial support from the federal and state governments, we have now achieved the goal of our ambitious project to provide as many people and companies as possible with the fastest possible internet connection in the shortest time possible,” said District Administrator Dr. Wolf-Rüdiger Michel on the occasion of the launch. The federal funding program of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) is supporting the broadband expansion in the district of Rottweil with roughly 5.9 million euros. The state of Baden-Württemberg is contributing approximately 2.3 million euros. The district-wide project will benefit over 18,900 households, which will now have access to bandwidths of at least 50 Mbit/s; over 60 percent of these will have access to data transfer rates of 100 Mbit/s and higher. In addition, more than 2,000 companies in the district can use network connections with bandwidths of up to 1 Gbit/s thanks to the subsidized expansion. With regard to her community, Carmen Merz expressed her thanks for the district-wide initiative: “We are very grateful to District Administrator Dr. Wolf-Rüdiger Michel and his staff at the Rottweil District Office for taking the matter into their own hands in a forward-looking manner and providing everyone in the district of Rottweil with fast internet – a real showcase project and a blessing for the region.” The expansion has certainly contributed to the attractiveness of Zimmern o. R. and the entire region as a business location. “Many employees will choose to work in Zimmern and move to this beautiful town with their family,” said the mayor.
Photo above: View of Zimmern ob Rottweil (Baden-Württemberg), striking: the Thyssenkrupp test tower, where high-speed elevators and elevators have been tested since 2017. Photo credit: Municipal administration of Zimmern ob Rottweil
Photo center: Carmen Merz, Mayor of Zimmern ob Rottweil. Photo credit: Carmen Merz/Ralf Graner.
Photo below: Town hall of the municipality of Zimmern ob Rottweil. Photo credit: Municipal administration of Zimmern ob Rottweil