Stuttgart, 26.04.2022 At the second BREKO Glass Fiber Forum Baden-Württemberg today, the state parliament’s digital politicians discussed with over 170 representatives of the telecommunications industry, municipalities, districts and trade associations how the state can catch up in terms of fiber optic expansion. The core topics were the correct use of subsidies, the avoidance of duplicate expansion, the establishment of modern installation methods, the digitalization of approval procedures and the challenges of fibre optic expansion in apartment buildings.

More than 170 stakeholders involved in the expansion of fiber optics in Baden-Württemberg met today in Stuttgart at the invitation of the Federal Association for Broadband Communication (BREKO) to discuss the most pressing challenges and new solutions for the expansion of digital infrastructure in the state.

BREKO Managing Director Dr. Stephan Albers began by pointing out the weak position of the state in a nationwide comparison: “The current BREKO market analysis shows that the expansion of fiber optics in Germany is booming: Fiber optic expansion in Germany is booming. However, it is alarming that Baden-Württemberg is in the red when it comes to fiber optic expansion among the federal states. That’s why we want to discuss the reasons for this at the second fibre optic forum in Stuttgart and show solutions for how Baden-Württemberg can now make rapid progress in digitalization.”

Bernhard Palm, spokesman for the BREKO Baden-Württemberg regional group, on the other hand, pointed out the current high expansion momentum in the southwest: “Fiber optic expansion in Baden-Württemberg is finally picking up speed. Alternative carriers must also be the main guarantor for the rapid nationwide expansion of fiber optics here. State policy should therefore provide the best possible support for the drivers of expansion.”

In his presentation on the current status of fiber optic expansion, Sven Butler, Head of the Federal Gigabit Office, addressed the major differences between the federal states. He offered to support the municipalities in Baden-Württemberg with the experience and expertise of the Gigabit Office: “The gigabit expansion in Germany is progressing steadily with the aim of achieving nationwide fiber optic and mobile coverage for all by 2030. As the Federal Gigabit Office, we support municipalities on this path with our consulting and information services; among other things, our information campaigns and roadshow flank the activities of the network operators.”

Afterwards, the digital policy spokespersons of the Green, CDU, SPD and FDP parliamentary groups discussed the topics of fiber optic funding and dual expansion:

“For the Greens, fast internet is a public service. That’s why our goal is to guarantee gigabit-capable Internet throughout Baden-Württemberg by 2025. We will achieve this primarily through funding programs worth billions for all locations in Baden-Württemberg where expansion is not economically viable. In the long term, we are prioritizing the technological expansion of fibre optic networks in particular and have set up a round table on the topic of fibre optic networks for this purpose,” said Peter Seimer, spokesperson for digitalization for the Green parliamentary group in the state parliament, in recognition of the commitment of the state government and his party.

Daniel Karrais, spokesperson for digitalization for the FDP/DVP parliamentary group, disagrees: “Baden-Württemberg’s digital infrastructure is a clear disadvantage for the location.” The reason: “The more taxpayers’ money the state ties up in subsidized expansion, the slower broadband expansion progresses. In 2022 alone, Baden-Württemberg received around €1.1 billion in funding from the federal government. However, the subsidized expansion will take up to three times as long as the expansion carried out by telecommunications companies on their own account.” Prioritization is necessary, otherwise “taxpayers’ money would be wasted if private expansion is crowded out. The fact that only 13% of high-speed connections in Germany are currently being created with subsidies shows that the criticism that gigabit connections will not reach households and companies without subsidies is not true. The state government must introduce demand-oriented funding instruments that support the expansion of the private sector. The FDP parliamentary group proposes a voucher model (also known as ‘voucher funding’) for this, in which the ‘last mile’ from the kerb to the house is funded.”

Jonas Hoffmann, digital policy spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group, summed up the fundamental consensus of the panelists on the current hot topic of dual fiber optic expansion with the words “A fiber optic connection to every home. Not two or three per house – but no house without one”. “We will only achieve the goal of supplying our country with fiber optics in a few years if we avoid overbuilding existing networks and focus on open access. Overbuilding does not conserve resources and exacerbates material and personnel bottlenecks,” agreed Ansgar Mayr, digital policy spokesperson for the CDU parliamentary group.

Another specialist presentation addressed the previously underestimated challenge of equipping all apartments in apartment buildings with their own fiber optic connections. The current standardization process for modern installation methods and the potential analysis for self-build fibre optic expansion were also the subject of the fibre optic forum, giving participants a comprehensive overview of all currently relevant topics in fibre optic expansion.

From the perspective of the districts, Michael Schlichenmaier, Head of Press and Public Relations at the Landkreistag Baden-Württemberg, emphasized the need to dovetail self-funded and subsidized fiber optic expansion: “It is imperative that the federal and state governments continue to provide well-funded broadband funding in order to be able to supply all households in Baden-Württemberg with fiber optic connections in the future. It is important to intelligently combine commercial and subsidized expansion.”

At the end of the event, BREKO Managing Director Dr. Stephan Albers thanked Bernhard Palm for his many years of commitment to the association. In addition to his role as spokesman for the BREKO Baden-Württemberg regional group, the Managing Director of NetCom BW is also active as Treasurer on the BREKO Board. He will be leaving his company – and therefore the association – at the end of April.

The second Baden-Württemberg Fiber Optic Forum was organized by BREKO and supported by the Federal Gigabit Office, the Baden-Württemberg Association of Municipalities, the Baden-Württemberg Association of Districts, the Baden-Württemberg Association of Cities and telent GmbH.