Berlin/Bonn, 18.04.2024 – Tomorrow, Friday, the conference of state digital ministers will meet for the first time in Potsdam. Jan Simons, Head of State Policy at the German Broadband Association (BREKO), explains:

“Whether in terms of approval procedures, dual expansion or proposed legislation: The federal states have many levers to improve the conditions for fiber optic expansion in their municipalities. This makes it all the more important to tackle the challenges together now in this new format. However, the good idea of a separate conference of digital ministers must not become an alibi event. Instead, the federal states must agree on binding positions – and recognize that the expansion of a future-proof digital infrastructure is a basic prerequisite for the self-declared goal of driving forward the digital transformation in Germany. Without fiber optics, there will be no AI, no data networking and no smart cities.

When it comes to approval procedures in particular, the federal states must stop blaming the federal government. Instead, they must implement more far-reaching regulations instead of blocking them, including shortening deadlines, digitizing approval procedures via the OZG broadband portal and exempting minor construction measures from approval. New declarations of intent will not get us any further here. We finally need a recognizable plan to speed up procedures and more pragmatism when it comes to reducing bureaucracy.

The planned Telecommunications Network Expansion Acceleration Act would also make it possible to speed up approvals if fiber optic and mobile network expansion is defined as being in the overriding public interest. Some federal states have already pushed for this wording. If the federal government is unable to agree on this, the federal states will have to push it through in the Bundesrat.

As documented last week in the Federal Network Agency’s monitoring report, Deutsche Telekom is strategically duplicating expansion in a number of municipalities – a key obstacle to expansion. However, the federal government still does not intend to take any concrete measures against this. We expect the federal states to work towards the introduction of reporting obligations for Deutsche Telekom vis-à-vis the Federal Digital Minister in order to finally put a stop to the strategic double expansion identified by the Federal Network Agency in the interests of the fastest and most comprehensive expansion possible and to relieve the burden on local authorities.

The federal states have a lot in their own hands. It is now important that political activity for fiber optic expansion is no longer measured solely by the handover of funding decisions. Tomorrow’s conference of digital ministers is a good start.”