The morning of the second day of our specialist congress focused on broadband promotion.
Based on the assumption that there will be twice as many devices connected via the internet in 2018 as there are people on earth, Udo Kirsch, Project Controller at aconium GmbH, explained the federal government’s material concept. His presentation covered topics such as real-time networking of energy services, the use of artificial intelligence in intermodal transport systems and the reduction of energy consumption by means of broadband networking of intelligent mobility systems. The audience was able to find out about the use of digital comfort for intelligent households such as virtual, interactive gaming or shopping, storage, indoor climate and remote maintenance as well as comprehensive health management.
Udo Kirsch emphasized that the main focus was on minimizing costs by sharing the use of other construction measures and laying empty conduits when developing new traffic routes or new development areas. Dr. Andreas Hornsteiner, Head of the Fiber Optics Division at Laser Components, then reported on his practical experience in fiber optic and infrastructure monitoring. The core topic of the previous day was the IT Security Act, which came into force on August 25, 2015, and the associated obligation for operators of critical infrastructures (KRITIS) to report unusual IT events to the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). The aim of the law is to better protect the fiber optic network against sabotage and theft, network disruptions, disruptive events and eavesdropping.
The presentation on broadband funding: Requesting and paying out funds in the federal funding program by Stefan Seidenglanz, Head of the Paying Office at aconium GmbH, was met with great interest by the large audience. The expert provided detailed information on eligible expenditure, security deposits and the preliminary review of documents by the project sponsor aconium GmbH. The requirements for submitting a request for funds, prerequisites, mandatory proof, minimum requirements for an invoice and the minimum requirements for interim proof were further important key points of the presentation.
Rolf-Peter Scharfe, Head of Fiber Optic Cooperation at Vodafone, explained the advantages of the operator model in his presentation Gigabit Offensive and emphasized that fiber optics is the best transfer medium for high data volumes.
A highlight was the Delivery Robot from Starship Technologies, which had already caused a stir the day before. Following his presentation, Hendrik Albers, Regional Manager Central Europe at Starship Technologies, answered questions from our editor Ben Bucerius and explained that the robot has already completed over 100,000 test kilometers under various climatic conditions in over 100 cities worldwide. It was met with a high level of social acceptance from other road users.
In the early afternoon, Simon Japs, Director Public Policy at Unitymedia, addressed the topic of competition before promotion: What the market can contribute to the gigabit target. He emphasized that the main focus is on the ongoing expansion of the fibre-based cable network with bandwidths of up to 400 Mbit/s, especially in rural regions.
After these informative and varied presentations, Wednesday afternoon will be dedicated to the fall conference of the D21 initiative.
Photo above: Rolf-Peter Scharfe, Head of Fiber Optic Cooperation, Vodafone on 25.10.2017 in Berlin at the “Digital Regions – Today and Tomorrow” trade fair.
Photo credits: aconium GmbH / Florian Schuh