Mr Kämpfer, why are digitalization and gigabit expansion important issues for Kiel?
Ulf Kämpfer: A functioning fiber optic network is a modernity factor – not only in the countryside, but also in the cities. After all, the big digitalization push is yet to come: for example, when we digitalize our citizen services in accordance with the Online Access Act by next year. But private use – such as streaming films – will also increase significantly in the future. The old copper cables simply cannot cope with such data volumes – even if not everyone is aware of this at the moment. I am therefore very pleased that people in Kiel now have the opportunity to book fiber optics: I am very optimistic that we will have fiber optic laid here across the board in three to four years.
For which sectors in Kiel is digitalization a decisive location factor?
Kämpfer: Many people still associate Kiel with shipbuilding. Shipyards were the big thing here. But we now have a very strong IT and software industry in Kiel, which has long since employed more people than the shipyards. Of course, these companies all need fiber optics. And public administration and schools also need reliable data structures. Apart from that: There is now hardly an industry that does not rely on high-performance data lines. A modern IT structure – fiber optics – is essential for Kiel’s economic future.
When you think about the future …
Kämpfer: … we have the task of exploiting the opportunities of digitalization without losing sight of the risks. I am thinking here, for example, of the massive attacks on public networks that have occurred in the recent past. We must take great care to ensure that the great achievements of digitalization are not destroyed by cybercrime or disasters such as the recent floods in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. We need strong IT structures that don’t just work in good weather.