Following the start of the expansion of the NGA network in early summer for the areas of Bramsche-Kalkriese and Ostercappeln, Melle-Ost and Bad Essen-Ost as well as Georgsmarienhütte and Hasbergen, a further ground-breaking ceremony took place in the district of Osnabrück on June 28 in Ebbendorf, a district of the municipality of Hilter am Teutoburger Wald, not far from freeway 33.
As part of this expansion lot, over 130 households and more than 80 companies – many of them in the industrial area of the neighboring town of Melle – will benefit from high-speed Internet access. “The district of Osnabrück is a strong business location. With the current investments, we are helping to ensure that entrepreneurs will continue to find modern conditions here in the future,” said District Administrator Michael Lübbersmann with conviction. Together with the mayors of Melle, Bissendorf and Hilter as well as representatives of the responsible construction companies, he took part in the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony.
The mayors also emphasized the need to expand the infrastructure. They agreed that fast Internet was becoming increasingly important for companies in the region and that the corresponding infrastructure could now be provided thanks to the investment in the broadband network. The Osnabrück district’s expansion project is being funded with 15 million euros by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure’s(BMVI) federal broadband funding program as part of the first of two funding applications.
The district and its towns and municipalities are investing 13.7 million euros of their own funds, with 5 million euros of additional funding coming from the federal state of Lower Saxony. The funds will be used to complete a total of 542 kilometers of civil engineering work. Upon completion, more than 6,200 households and almost 700 companies as well as one secondary school, three elementary school and seven kindergartens will benefit from this. Households will then be able to use internet connections with data transfer rates of at least 50 Mbit/s, while gigabit connections will be available for businesses.
The digitization concept of the district of Osnabrück focuses primarily on the periphery of towns and municipalities in order to close the ‘white spots’ there. In the future, this should not only benefit companies and households in the form of broadband network connections, the network infrastructure is also a building block for mobility and e-government solutions in the region. For example, the control of charging stations for e-mobility, real-time information systems for public transport or digital services for citizens can be implemented in the coming years. The comprehensive provision of broadband infrastructure and its use in the form of digital services will therefore have a positive impact on the economic and social development of the region.
Photo: District Administrator Michael Lübbersmann (right foreground), Thorsten Schoppmeyer (Broadband Commissioner for the District of Osnabrück, l.), Mayor Guido Halfter (Bissendorf, 4th from l.), Mayor Reinhard Scholz (Melle, 4th from r.), Mayor Marc Schewski (Hilter, r.) at the launch of the expansion of the digital infrastructure in Ebbendorf, a district of Hilter, district of Osnabrück. r.), Mayor Marc Schewski (Hilter, r.) at the kick-off for the expansion of the digital infrastructure in Ebbendorf, a district of Hilter, Osnabrück district on June 28, 2018.
Photo credit: Osnabrück district/Uwe Lewandowski