Bonn, 26.11.2021 At its general meeting, the German Broadband Association (BREKO) set the main topics for the new year. In the area of funding, the association is expanding its range of services to include a new platform for advising companies on public procurement and state aid law.

At the beginning of the BREKO General Meeting 2021, BREKO President Norbert Westfal appealed to the future German government: “Digitization and the associated fiber optic infrastructure required for this are now at the top of the political agenda. The coalition agreement gives exactly the right priority to the nationwide supply of fiber to the building with a real fiber optic target. The traffic light coalition is now giving clear priority to the roll-out on a commercial basis. Subsidies should rightly be used as a supplement where there is no potential for market-driven expansion. With our strong expansion figures and concrete implementation proposals, we have made our demands heard on the political stage. Our demand now is to consistently implement the good approaches, to digitize approval procedures, to dose funding and to use existing acceleration potential, for example through the use of modern installation methods.”

BREKO Managing Director Dr. Stephan Albers presented the most important topics for the association year 2022 at the annual general meeting of the fiber optic association. The implementation of the regulations set out in the new Telecommunications Act is one of the focal points of BREKO’s association work in 2022, along with monitoring the design of the “grey-spot funding”. In the area of funding procedures, the association is expanding its range of services for members.

BREKO initial consultation on public procurement and state aid law

The demand for advice on procurement and state aid law has risen sharply in recent years. This is due to the various federal and state broadband funding programs, which raise numerous and often complex questions. In cooperation with the global commercial law firm Dentons, BREKO therefore offers its member companies an exclusive initial consultation on procurement and state aid law in the telecommunications sector as a special service. BREKO members can now submit their questions directly via the online platform set up specifically for this purpose.

“In the course of fiber optic expansion, the telecommunications companies involved are often confronted with challenging legal issues regarding the funding process. In cooperation with BREKO, we are therefore very much looking forward to supporting the BREKO member companies in this process with our many years of experience and proven expertise in public procurement and state aid law and to offering a technical solution that enables companies to receive uncomplicated and quick initial advice,” comments Dr. Christian Miercke, Counsel at Dentons.

Outlook for the BREKO year 2022

During yesterday’s meeting, Dr. Stephan Albers also announced the most important dates for the coming year. Planning for the digital and fiber optic trade fair Fiberdays in Wiesbaden has made further progress. Fiberdays will take place on 23 and 24 March 2022 with new formats and a comprehensive hygiene concept as a face-to-face trade fair at the RheinMain CongressCenter in Wiesbaden. In addition, the BREKO Annual Conference, the association’s central political event, will take place on November 17, 2022 at the Estrel Congress Center (ECC) in Berlin. The general meeting will follow on November 18, 2022.