According to the latest market analysis by the German Broadband Association, Bavaria ranks second to last in terms of fiber optic expansion. On the occasion of the 11th Bavarian Broadband Forum tomorrow (Thursday), BREKO provides the figures and explains the background.

Largest federal state, but little fast internet: With a fiber optic expansion rate of 34% as of mid-2024, Bavaria is in joint second-last place with Thuringia among the federal states – and is well below the national average of 43%. With an increase of just 3 percentage points compared to the same period last year, the proportion of fiber optic connections compared to the number of households, companies and public institutions is only lower in Baden-Württemberg and Berlin (29% each) than in Bavaria.

In terms of the proportion of households actually connected – the fiber optic connection rate – Bavaria is also in the lower midfield at 19% (national average: 23%). These are the results of the BREKO Market Analysis 2024, which is based on data from all relevant companies involved in fiber optic expansion in Germany. It is therefore representative of the German telecommunications market.

Jan Simons, Head of State Policy at BREKO: “As the state with the strongest economy, Bavaria must keep pace with the expansion of its digital infrastructure. It is not enough to rest on the laurels of the well-developed HFC network. The need of companies and the population for reliable networks with high transmission rates can only be met by fiber optic technology in the long term. The focus of the Bavarian state government should be on the targeted promotion of fiber optic expansion.”

At 1.4 billion euros, Bavaria has applied for almost five times more funding for 2024 than the federal government’s gigabit funding plan. As of October, the state has applied for funding for 317 expansion projects this year, which is around 60 percent of all applications nationwide.

Simons: “Gigabit funding is important in regions where self-sufficient expansion is not possible and is a sensible addition, especially in rural regions. However, the approach of wanting to promote as much as possible is counterproductive for the speed of expansion, as the subsidized expansion takes significantly longer – often up to seven years. It would make more sense to improve the framework conditions for much faster, self-built fiber optic expansion, for example by speeding up the approval process.”