On 12 December, Federal Minister Dr. Volker Wissing presented funding certificates to 29 recipients of Gigabit Funding 2.0, including rural districts, municipalities and other local authorities, who were invited as representatives of all fiber optic funding projects supported by the federal government in 2023.
At the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV), almost 100 representatives from all over Germany were delighted to receive federal funding to support their expansion projects. This is part of the funding guideline “Funding to support the gigabit expansion of telecommunications networks in the Federal Republic of Germany” from 31.03.2023. The aim is to supplement the dynamically advancing self-economic fiber optic expansion by telecommunications companies in a targeted manner without hindering private investment.
Around 3.6 billion euros in funding was made available in 2023. This will enable a further 638,000 fibre optic connections to be implemented in around 2,300 municipalities. Federal Minister Dr. Volker Wissing commented: “Gigabit networks are a key location factor for the establishment of companies, growth and jobs in entire regions. This requires a nationwide, high-performance and future-oriented broadband network. Our compass on the path to fast networks is the gigabit strategy, in which we have bundled our goals and measures. By 2030, we want fiber to the home and the latest mobile communications standard everywhere where people live, work and travel. The majority of connections will be made possible by private investment. We are closing the remaining gap with our targeted funding, which will benefit precisely those regions where there is a lot of catching up to do and where expansion by telecommunications companies is not economically viable.”
Positive examples stand for thousands of projects
As it was not possible to list all of the funded projects that received a funding decision in Berlin, the district of Cochem-Zell will serve as an example of the federal funding. Around 35 million euros for 8,200 new connections will go here. This will close gaps in coverage that were previously caused by incomplete private fiber optic expansion. District Administrator Anke Beilstein summarizes the importance of the expansion as follows: “The planned gigabit expansion is a great opportunity for us as a district and the municipalities belonging to the district. In a combination of self-funded and subsidized expansion, all households, every company and every business in the entire district of Cochem-Zell should receive high-performance fiber optic connections. Advancing digitalization brings new opportunities and possibilities for rural areas, such as increased attractiveness by enabling people to work from home, improved medical care through telemedicine or a better quality of life thanks to a better work-life balance. Only with a modern and high-performance broadband infrastructure can the increasing demands and requirements be met. I will therefore continue to push ahead with the gigabit expansion in the district of Cochem-Zell as a high priority.”