The pace of fibre deployment now needs to match the increase in funding available
The funding scheme is no longer preserved for lower speeds: From this week, municipalities in Germany can apply for funding to expand fibre deployment even in the ‘gray areas’, i.e. those areas where internet speeds are below 100Mbps. This significantly expands the areas eligible for funds, since up until now only the ‘white areas’ were eligible, where broadband speeds are below 30Mbps. The move can support the deployment of a further 2.8m fibre connections that the market would not have delivered. The expansion of the funding programme came after difficult negotiations with the European Commission, which needed to approve state aid measures.
Time to up the fibre game: In 2016, when Germany set the target to have nationwide gigabit connectivity by 2025, it had a relatively limited fibre footprint. The regulatory environment provided incentives for Deutsche Telekom to focus its investment on vectoring technologies to maximise the performance of its existing copper network. In November 2019, DT said vectoring allowed it to provide speeds up to 250Mbps to 20m households. Gigabit coverage stood at 27.3% of households at the end of 2018, largely due to cable networks. In the last two years, gigabit coverage has more than doubled (now at 59.2%) but only 14.5% of households can get gigabit broadband through fibre. The new funding scheme is expected to boost fibre deployment and help achieve the 2025 target.
Rural areas have not been forgotten: The Government is planning a subsidy for connections with satellite or radio link technology for fast supply to households in hard-to-reach areas. 5G will help in that regard, not only because of its potential to enhance the capabilities of fixed-wireless access, but also because much of the ‘Digital Infrastructure’ fund comes from the proceeds of the costly spectrum auction of 2019, which raised €6.5bn. With a total €12bn spent in broadband subsidies so far, the Government appears to be keeping its promise to put the money back into the industry.
Source: https://www.bmvi.de/SharedDocs/DE/Pressemitteilungen/2021/040-scheuer-graue-flecken-foerderung.html
