With a further 682,000 euros in federal funding from the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure’s(BMVI) broadband funding program, 46 schools in the Olpe district will soon be connected to the fibre optic network. “This will provide the schools with optimal conditions for the digital education of the future,” said District Administrator Frank Beckehoff after receiving the positive news from Berlin.
In total, the broadband expansion in the North Rhine-Westphalian district is now being supported with over five million euros in federal funding. The towns and municipalities belonging to the district will contribute around 565,000 euros to cover the network operator’s profitability gap. The federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia will contribute 3.9 million euros. Additional co-financing from the state amounting to 560,000 euros for connecting the schools is expected to be approved shortly so that construction work can start soon.
Last December, the district of Olpe was the first district in North Rhine-Westphalia to start broadband expansion as part of the federal broadband funding program with a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony. Construction work is currently underway in parts of Attendorn, Drolshagen, Finnentrop and Olpe. Further expansion areas in the district will begin civil engineering work in the coming months, so that more than 10,000 households and over 1,500 companies across the district can benefit from data transmission speeds of at least 50 Mbit/s in addition to schools.
Photo: A construction site for the broadband expansion in Helden.
Photo credit: Kreis Olpe