Bonn, 23.11.2021 With the network operator Colt Technology Services, the German Broadband Association (BREKO) welcomes its 400th member company at the end of 2021. Together with the BREKO purchasing association, which is welcoming its 100th network operator as a member this month, the BREKO association is celebrating a proud 500 memberships. This means that the leading fiber optic association represents 85 percent of the alternative telecommunications network operators active in Germany as well as manufacturers of hardware, components and service providers.

Founded in Bonn in 1999 as the “Federal Association of Regional and Local Telecommunications Companies”, BREKO had around 50 member companies when it was renamed the “Federal Association for Broadband Communication” in 2005. Since then, it has developed into the central voice of fiber optic expansion in Germany. With a total of 226 telecommunications network operators and almost 180 companies offering products and services related to fiber optic expansion, the association speaks for the majority of companies involved in fiber optic expansion.

BREKO Managing Director Dr. Stephan Albers is very pleased with the development of the association: “Together with the importance of fiber optic expansion, BREKO has also grown strongly in recent years. Everyone has now recognized this: Only with fibre optics as a future-proof digital infrastructure will we be able to exploit the potential of digitization. The market is rapidly gaining momentum and more and more companies are investing in fiber optic expansion. Most of them are organized in BREKO. Our companies are responsible for over 70 percent of fiber optic expansion in Germany. We are proud to welcome our 400th member company, Colt Technology Services, another network operator that is actively expanding the fiber optic network in Germany. However, fiber optic expansion does not work without the corresponding preliminary products, services or hardware such as routers. BREKO unites network operators and suppliers, which is why we are able to speak for the entire fiber optic industry.”

Ruth Welter, Vice President Strategic Alliances at Colt Technology Services, explains: “Our fiber optic infrastructure and its continuous expansion is the basis for our global B2B business with data and voice services. In the almost 30 years of our existence, we have connected over 29,000 company locations and more than 900 data centers in 32 countries worldwide with our own fiber optic network and offer high-performance and reliable services. We are delighted to be welcomed as the 400th member of BREKO and to continue paving the way to a digital future in Germany together with all other members of the association.”

500 memberships in the BREKO network

Parallel to the 400th member of the association, BREKO-Einkaufsgemeinschaft is celebrating its 100th cooperative member. As the commercial part of the BREKO association, consisting of the Federal Association of Broadband Communication, the BREKO Purchasing Association and the BREKO Servicegesellschaft as organizer of the Fiberdays trade fair, it has been offering BREKO member companies innovative products and services for the fiber optic business model for 11 years. Even in times of supply bottlenecks and rising prices, it provides access to important resources for fiber optic expansion thanks to certified listing partners. Jürgen Magull, Managing Director of BREKO eG, says: “For more than a decade, the BREKO purchasing association has been a reliable partner for network operators and provides them with more than 50 pre-selected products at advantageous conditions. Many certified solutions are available as white label products for business and private customers, making life easier for network operators. Many network operators have recognized this. In times of supply bottlenecks for chips and semiconductors, we support companies in procuring important resources such as routers. By bundling demand, we have the opportunity to contribute to a functioning market.”

Indicator for fiber optic expansion

Over the past two decades, BREKO has created important framework conditions for a future-proof digital infrastructure, removed obstacles to expansion and made proposals for accelerating expansion on the way to becoming a fiber-optic society. For example, a BREKO concept was incorporated into the new version of the Telecommunications Act, which will come into force on December 1, 2021, in the form of the “fiber optic provision fee”, as a redesign of the apportionability of the broadband connection. This facilitates and accelerates the connection of apartment buildings to the fiber optic network. Over the next few years, the association will continue to work in Brussels, Berlin, the federal states and the municipalities to ensure that the right course is set for a further acceleration of fiber optic expansion. In addition to significantly shortening the duration of approval procedures, a key role will be played in particular by a sensible dosage of gigabit funding to supplement the self-financed expansion of companies. In addition, the BREKO market analysis, which is compiled annually in cooperation with Professor Dr. Jens Böcker, has become a representative indicator of the status of fiber optic expansion in Germany due to the increasingly broad membership base. In addition to its growing commitment on the digital policy stage, the digital association is also increasingly involved in digital topics based on fiber optic infrastructure, such as the networking of local data centers, the European Gaia-X cloud project and the development of smart city concepts.