The symbolic ground-breaking ceremony on May 4 in Emlichheim marked the start of broadband expansion in the Lower County of Bentheim. The project is intended to ensure future-proof broadband coverage in the outlying areas of the joint municipalities of Emlichheim, Uelsen, Neuenhaus and Wietmarschen.
Finance Minister Reinhold Hilbers (Lower Saxony), State Secretary Stefan Muhle (Lower Saxony Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour, Transport and Digitalization), District Administrator Friedrich Kethorn (County of Bentheim), District Councillor Dr. Michael Kiehl (Grafschaft Bentheim), Matthias Schulze-Mantei (aconium, sovereign project sponsor of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, BMVI), the main mayors and mayors of the joint municipalities, Ansgar Duling and Jan-Hermann Hans (both Breitband Grafschaft Bentheim GmbH & Co. KG), the project coordinators of Niedergrafschaft Bentheim as well as representatives of the district council faction and the operating, executing and planning company took part in the event.
Under the motto “We’ve made it”, broadband expansion is beginning in Niedergrafschaft Bentheim, explained Duling and Hans and thanked everyone involved. “All participants will benefit from this broadband project,” said Mayor Daniela Kösters (Emlichheim), adding: “A milestone has been reached! The specified quota of 55% for the realization of the project has been exceeded in a short space of time with currently 68%. Each of the mayors contributed to achieving the necessary connection rate.” An FTTB (fiber-to-the-building) network is planned in the region on the Dutch border as part of an operator model. The realization of the connection quota secures the refinancing and was the basis for the implementation of the project.
At the ground-breaking ceremony, State Secretary Stefan Muhle emphasized the great importance of broadband coverage for urban and rural areas. The investment of the municipalities in the expansion of the fiber optic broadband network would lead to a sustainable improvement in the infrastructure. In conclusion, District Administrator Friedrich Kethorn spoke of a promising day for Niedergrafschaft Bentheim: “Connecting every home to the high-bit-rate network is very important in order not to lose touch with urban centers.” Kethorn thanked everyone involved for their active cooperation in implementing the project.
Almost 11.62 million euros in funding will flow into the expansion project from the BMVI’s federal broadband funding program. The district will also receive 4 million euros from the state of Lower Saxony. Until completion, 402 kilometers of civil engineering work will be carried out. Subsequently, 4,336 households and 27 institutional users will benefit from Internet access with transmission rates of at least 50 Mbit/s and 161 companies from transmission rates of at least 1 Gbit/s.
Photo (r-l): Mayor Daniela Kösters (Samtgemeinde Emlichheim), Finance Minister Reinhold Hilbers (Niedersach-sen), State Secretary Stefan Muhle (Niedersächs. Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour, Transport and Digitalization), Ansgar Duling, Jan-Hermann Hans, Arndt Kuipers (all Breitband Grafschaft Bentheim GmbH & Co. KG), Mayor Herbert Koers (joint municipality of Uelsen), Mayor Günter Oldekamp (joint municipality of Neuenhaus), Mayor Manfred Wellen (joint municipality of Wietmarschen), District Administrator Friedrich Kethorn (county of Bentheim) and Matthias Schulze-Mantei (aconium) at the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony on May 4 in Emlichheim, county of Graf-schaft Bentheim (Lower Saxony).
Photo credit: Franz Frieling