Today, 19.12.2017, Christian Schmidt, Acting Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, handed over 124 funding decisions as part of the federal broadband funding program. This means that around 375 million euros in funding will flow to municipal expansion projects and 782 million euros in total investment will be triggered.
Federal Minister Schmidt: “We are setting the course for the digital future of our country. With today’s funding decisions, we are building around 30,000 kilometers of new fiber optics and supporting the districts and municipalities in organizing their connection to super-fast broadband. In total, we have made around 320,000 kilometers of new fiber optics possible with our federal program. We are investing over 3.45 billion euros of federal funds for this and creating network speeds up to the gigabit range.”
The funding decisions presented today are the result of the fifth call for applications for infrastructure projects as well as the applications received as part of the special call for commercial and port areas(see the calls). Since April 2016, 731 expansion projects in Germany have already benefited from federal funding. The decision in the fifth round means that more than 100,000 households and more than 10,000 companies will receive a broadband connection. Further information on the funding decision can be found on the BMVI website.
Photo above: Christian Schmidt, Acting Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, speaks at the presentation of the funding decision. Photos below, l.: View of the funding decision handover; m.: Rainer Bomba, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure with decision recipients; r.: Christian Schmidt, Acting Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure hands over a funding decision. 19.12.2017, Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure in Berlin. Photo credits: Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.