Bonn/Dresden, 01.06.2023 The German Broadband Association (BREKO) welcomes today’s resolution of the Saxon state parliament on the topic of “High-speed for fiber optic development: Intensify cooperation between state administration, companies and municipalities”. The fiber optic association considers the strengthening of modern installation methods by the Digital Agency Saxony (DiAS) and the creation of a broadband pact to promote constant exchange between all players involved in fiber optic expansion to be particularly helpful.

In its session today, the Saxon state parliament passed the motion “High-speed for fiber optic development: intensify cooperation between state administration, companies and municipalities” at the request of the CDU, Green and SPD parliamentary groups. “This motion is a strong signal from the plenary session and a clear commitment by state politicians to make Saxony digitally fit for the future without taking the politically simpler but often ineffective route of ‘distributing tax money with a watering can’,” said Oliver Ulke, Deputy Head of State and Local Policy at BREKO, welcoming the state parliament’s decision.

“DiAS’s mission to inform local authorities about the advantages of modern installation methods has the potential to reduce reservations and thus achieve more meters for less money – where these methods make sense. Since civil engineering accounts for around 80 percent of the costs in fiber optic expansion, this is a decisive lever for increasing the economic efficiency of projects and saving resources at the same time,” emphasizes Ulke. After all, it is well known that fiber optics consume significantly less electricity than copper-based broadband networks. However, the fact that the nationwide expansion of traditional civil engineering produces considerable amounts of excavated material, that citizens are burdened by larger and longer-lasting construction sites and that there is also greater interference with nature are challenges that often only become apparent at second glance. Clever use of less invasive methods can help here. The DIN standard 18022 for trenching, milling and ploughing methods in fiber optic expansion announced for the end of July clearly shows that modern installation methods are already well researched and represent the state of the art. This makes it all the more important for the state parliament to send a signal that it is committed to progress and to strengthen the municipal approval authorities in their decision-making process instead of making them feel insecure.

Dr. Daniel Gerber, spokesperson for digitalization for the Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen parliamentary group in the Saxon state parliament, also confirmed: “Broadband expansion is the basis for equal living conditions in urban and rural areas as well as economic growth in an increasingly digital world. We are pulling out all the stops here to implement the expansion targets as efficiently as possible. The digital infrastructure also needs to be expanded sustainably. We are therefore committed to creating energy-efficient infrastructure with fiber optics, expanding it more economically and with fewer emissions by using modern installation methods and reducing overbuilding. The cooperation we have initiated will enable us to expand our gigabit infrastructure as quickly and efficiently as possible. I am delighted that our initiative has met with such fruitful cooperation within the coalition and that the necessary dialog will be further expanded in the future.”

BREKO expressly welcomes the creation of a broadband pact for Saxony as suggested in the state parliament’s resolution: “In many other federal states, it has already been shown that fiber optic and broadband pacts are suitable for tackling and overcoming the challenges of fiber optic expansion with all parties involved. BREKO is looking forward to the exchange in order to jointly improve the framework conditions,” says Ulke.

The planned provision of address data and the reference in the resolution to the often time-consuming removal of explosive ordnance show that the state parliament is deliberately adjusting the parameters to improve the framework conditions, especially for self-economic fiber optic expansion – but also to benefit the subsidized expansion. The high priority explicitly mentioned in the motion, with which the broadband portal for digital approval procedures from Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate is also to be introduced in Saxony, is a further step towards strengthening cooperation between municipalities and network operators in fiber optic expansion. The planned expansion of DiAS’s portfolio of tasks is also logical now, following its successful start-up phase, as it has already been able to establish itself as the central point of contact for digital issues for Saxony’s municipalities within a short space of time. The example of the digital agency in neighboring Thuringia shows that this is a path that is appreciated and well received by all those involved.

In Saxony, alternative network operators have been responsible for 65% of the fiber optic expansion to date. The lion’s share of this is provided by the 25 network operators organized in BREKO, which are based in the state or are active in fibre optic expansion here.