On 16 July 2018, Christian Pegel, Minister for Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, together with Axel Rödiger, Managing Director of the Zweckverband Wasserversorgung und Abwasserbehandlung Rügen, and Tim Brauckmüller, Managing Director of aconium GmbH, ceremoniously put the Mukran fibre optic network segment on the island of Rügen into operation. With the activation of the fiber optic cabinet, the island’s residents can now benefit from high-speed Internet.
Christian Pegel, Minister for Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization: “ZWAR has successfully laid the necessary infrastructure for the first network segment in the project area on behalf of the municipality. The network is now being leased to a private telecommunications company that will provide the data traffic.”
aconium Managing Director Tim Brauckmüller explained: “As the project sponsor of the broadband expansion funding program, aconium GmbH had approved almost four billion euros for over 700 expansion projects by municipalities and districts by the summer of 2018. These are now gradually entering the construction phase. The first projects will already be completed this year. Despite the amount of bureaucratic requirements, we have brought the municipalities and districts safely to their destination. In future, all regions of Germany will benefit from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s pioneering work,” says Brauckmüller.
Afterwards, the group from the morning met with Minister President Manuela Schwesig, Dr. Stefan Kerth, the future District Administrator of the Vorpommern-Rügen district, Thomas Gens, Mayor of the island of Hiddensee, and Bernd Bretsch, Managing Director of TieWa Tief & Wasserbau GmbH Bergen, for the first official ground-breaking ceremony on the island of Hiddensee.
“The expansion of broadband in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is picking up speed,” said Minister President Manuela Schwesig delightedly: “It is important to equip rural regions well too. We need fast internet everywhere in the state.”
aconium Managing Director Tim Brauckmüller also handed over three further funding decisions from the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) for expansion projects on Rügen and Hiddensee.
With the three funding decisions for Rügen/Hiddensee, the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure(BMVI) is providing well over 18.5 million euros from the federal broadband funding program, with the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern contributing a similar amount. Once the construction work has been completed, more than 5,249 households and over 590 companies in these expansion areas will be connected to high-speed Internet.
Photo above: Axel Rödiger (Managing Director ZWAR, l.), Holger Kliewe (Mayor of Ummanz and Member of Parliament, 2nd from l.), Thomas Gens (Mayor of Hiddensee, 3rd from l.), Manuela Schwesig (Minister President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 4th from r.), Minister Christian Pegel (Ministry of Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 3rd from r.), Dr. Stefan Kerth (District Administrator of Vorpommern, 4th from r.).), Minister Christian Pegel (Ministry for Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 3rd from right), Dr. Stefan Kerth (District Administrator of the Vorpommern-Rügen district, 2nd from right), Tim Brauckmüller (Managing Director of aconium GmbH, right) with a representative of the companies carrying out the work. Photos below: Tim Brauckmüller (Managing Director of aconium, 2nd from left) hands over the funding decisions to Axel Rödiger (Managing Director of ZWAR, l.) in the presence of Manuela Schwesig (Minister President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 2nd from right) and Minister Christian Pegel (Ministry of Energy, Infrastructure and Digitization Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, r.) on 16.07.2018 on Hiddensee. Axel Rödiger (Managing Director of ZWAR, l.), Minister Christian Pegel (Ministry of Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 2nd from right) and Tim Brauckmüller (Managing Director of aconium GmbH, r.) with a representative of the contractor on 16.07.2018 at the ceremonial commissioning of the Mukran grid segment in Sassnitz.
Photo credits: aconium GmbH / Florian Schuh