Essen, 22 June 2022 The Glasfaserforum Nordrhein-Westfalen 2022 brought together the most important players in fiber optic expansion in Germany’s largest federal state for the fourth time today in Essen. At the event organized by the German Broadband Association (BREKO) together with its partners con|energy and MICUS Strategieberatung as part of E-world, Europe’s largest energy trade fair, participants from the telecommunications industry, federal, state and local politics discussed the efficient dovetailing of self-funded and subsidized fiber optic expansion, digital approval procedures, alternative installation methods and other highly topical fiber optic issues.

Andreas Mescheder, Managing Director of MICUS Strategieberatung, kicked off the event with an overview of the current market dynamics: “Fiber optic expansion is currently experiencing a significant boom! The speed of expansion and investment volumes continue to rise. In 2021 alone, the number of households in Germany that can be reached with fiber optics increased by 50%. It is estimated that another 1.7 million fiber optic connections have been established since the beginning of the year. Alternative network operators such as municipal utilities are making a significant contribution to this success story. In order to ensure a high rate of expansion in the future and enable nationwide fiber optic coverage, self-funded and subsidized expansion must complement each other and not hinder each other.”

Building on this, BREKO Managing Director Dr. Stephan Albers emphasized the importance of direct dialogue between all parties involved: “A lot has happened in over two years of the pandemic: With strong investors behind it, the self-economic fiber optic expansion is running faster than ever. However, there is clearly still a lack of confidence, particularly in state politics, that companies will expand the vast majority of areas much faster without taxpayers’ money than with costly funding procedures. In order to strengthen this trust in the strength of the industry, it is essential to meet in person again after all the virtual meetings – like here in Essen at the NRW Fiber Optic Forum.”

Implementing the federal government’s gigabit strategy together

Stefan Schnorr, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs, also praised the current market dynamics: “The expansion process is proceeding very dynamically in both the fixed and mobile networks. We have the extensive expansion activities of the telecommunications companies and the efforts of the federal, state and local governments to thank for this.” He announced that the federal government’s planned gigabit strategy would be implemented together with companies, federal states and local authorities: “In view of the considerable investments in fiber optic expansion announced by the industry, we will create a suitable framework with the gigabit strategy so that fiber optic networks and first-class mobile networks are available everywhere in the country by 2030. In order to achieve rapid progress, we will involve all relevant stakeholders in the implementation of our gigabit strategy.”

Alternative installation methods and cabling for apartment buildings

Stefan Schmitz, Trenchless Development Manager D-A-CH at TRACTO-TECHNIK, explained how trenchless installation methods that have been successfully tested in practice enable rapid fiber optic expansion. Robin Weiand, Managing Director of Westenergie Breitband and Deputy BREKO Regional Group Spokesperson NRW, also named alternative installation methods as an important solution to counter the inflation of civil engineering costs. However, he pointed out that there was still a lack of expertise in this area in many municipalities. In his presentation, BREKO board member Jörg Figura, Managing Director of DOKOM21, addressed another major challenge, the expansion of fiber optics to the apartments in apartment buildings.

Fibre optics as the basis for the digitalization of the energy industry

“The digitalization of the energy industry is one of the greatest challenges and opportunities at the same time. Enormous efficiency potential can be leveraged using intelligent systems. The prerequisite for this is a consistent expansion of fiber optics,” says Stefanie Hamm, Managing Director of E-world energy & water, explaining the relevance of digital infrastructure for the energy industry. “For this reason, we are delighted that the Glass Fiber Forum has established itself as an integral part of E-world and is making a successful comeback this year as a face-to-face event.”