aconium geoinformation portals of the federal states enable synergies in fiber optic expansion by integrating free fiber optic infrastructures of Deutsche Bahn

Cooperations are an important building block for accelerating the expansion of fiber optics in Germany. The use of free capacities of existing fiber optic infrastructures can save costs and time in development projects. DB broadband GmbH pursues precisely this approach and makes free capacities of Deutsche Bahn’s fiber optic infrastructure (dark fiber) available to interested telecommunications companies, thus actively supporting fiber optic expansion in Germany.

Deutsche Bahn currently has a fiber optic network of more than 20,000 kilometers in length, which, due to its location along the railroad lines, also runs in very rural and remote areas and can contribute to improving the supply of high-speed Internet connections for citizens and companies / tradespeople. For example, around 3,000 train stations are already directly connected with fiber optics, some of which are located in the middle of towns and business parks that were previously unconnected with fiber optic access. By 2027, the Group plans to extend the fiber optic network to cover all of the approximately 33,400 kilometers of rail in Germany.

As a one-stop store, DB broadband GmbH offers Deutsche Bahn’s dark fiber and supplementary broadband products as a central point of contact. Redundant versions of transfer points are possible as an option, as are available DB fiber optic infrastructures that eliminate the need for a separate railroad crossing through underground construction measures. With its own service units for maintenance, fault clearance and servicing, DB broadband GmbH can also guarantee a high level of service with over 99.5 percent network availability for requesting companies. This is made possible by permanent staffing of the responsible fault clearance team and a maximum response time of 60 minutes. Should major faults nevertheless occur, they are guaranteed to be rectified in less than 24 hours. In addition, the fiber optic routes across the entire network are protected against external interference due to the specially secured railroad area, so that stable network operation is guaranteed at all times.

In the GIS customer portals of aconium GmbH, currently available and future fibre optic infrastructures of Deutsche Bahn are now integrated into the GIS systems for further planning and shared use and thus visualized for their users as infrastructures that can also be used for broadband expansion. In particular, future infrastructure data sets are displayed with detailed information on where Deutsche Bahn will be building fiber optic lines in the coming years and where current bottlenecks will be eliminated, so that real added value can be achieved for the targeted expansion of white fiber optic spots by taking this information into account and using it.