With a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony at the Hunsrückhaus, a good 20 kilometers west of Idar-Oberstein, the broadband expansion for around 100 municipalities and districts of the Bernkastel-Wittlich district began on 19.03.2018. State Secretary Randolf Stich (Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of the Interior and Sport), Parliamentary State Secretary Peter Bleser (Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture) and District Administrator Gregor Eibes came together at the foot of the Erbeskopf – the highest elevation in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate – to herald the digital future for the district. Stich highlighted the progress made in broadband expansion in Rhineland-Palatinate in recent years. Eibes emphasized the importance of the day and, with a view to the special venue, explained that the Hunsrückhaus is a predestined example of what fast network access can achieve. The Hunsrückhaus is the visitor center of the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park and will be connected with fiber optics via the funding project, thus strengthening its importance. Among other things, it serves the national park administration and is now equipped for the digital requirements of the events held there, such as conferences and exhibitions. The expansion of the digital infrastructure in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure’s broadband funding program with a good six million euros. The state is contributing around five million euros and the district 1.2 million euros. The money will be used to carry out 481 kilometers of civil engineering work and almost 500 kilometers of empty conduits will be laid. The expansion will give almost 6,500 households and over 400 companies access to transmission speeds of at least 50 MBit/s. 439 companies will benefit from connections with 1 Gbit/s and more. 71 institutions and administrations – including 54 schools and educational establishments in the region – will also be able to use the high bandwidths in future.
Photo: Parliamentary State Secretary Peter Bleser (Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, 5th from left), District Administrator Gregor Eibes (9th from left), State Secretary Randolf Stich (Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of the Interior and Sport, 10th from left) and other participants at the groundbreaking ceremony for the broadband expansion at the Hunsrückhaus (Rhineland-Palatinate) in the district of Bernkastel-Wittlich on 19.03.2018.
Photo credit: Fotografie Winter