Federal Digital Minister Wissing: BREKO’s work is needed

BREKO Vice President Rauscher: Concept for switching from copper to fiber optic networks by spring 2025 must have top priority

New survey: Benefits of fiber optics need greater awareness

BREKO publishes children’s book for more fiber optic acceptance

Berlin, 28.11.24 – The German Broadband Association (BREKO) welcomed more than 850 guests to the Estrel Berlin today for the political highlight of the year for the telecommunications industry. Representatives from politics, business, science and administration discussed current topics relevant to fiber optic expansion in Germany in the year of the association’s 25th anniversary. The main focus was on the most important measures for fiber optic expansion following the failure of the traffic light coalition.

Federal Digital Minister Dr. Volker Wissing congratulated BREKO on its 25th anniversary and emphasized the importance of a concept for the transition from copper to fibre optic networks in his keynote speech:

“Digital progress in Germany is in full swing – this is also due to reliable pioneers such as the German Broadband Association and its members. They are helping to ensure that high-performance, super-fast fiber optic networks are created throughout Germany. We are creating the necessary framework conditions for this with our gigabit strategy. This also includes the switch from copper to fiber optics. Together with the Federal Network Agency and the industry, we are developing a concept that comprehensively addresses the relevant consumer and competition policy aspects. It is important to us that the migration process is as non-discriminatory as possible and that customers retain their options. BREKO’s valuable advice and suggestions are therefore still needed. We will continue the proven, trusting and constructive cooperation. Congratulations on 25 years of BREKO and all the best and much success for the future!”

BREKO Vice President Alfred Rauscher emphasized the industry’s commitment to expansion in one of Germany’s largest infrastructure projects, but also addressed clear demands to politicians:

“Despite major challenges such as high construction costs and consumer restraint, Telekom’s competitors in particular are continuing to drive forward the expansion of fiber optics. The expansion in the area has currently slowed down, but more households are being connected with fiber optics. Nevertheless, according to the latest market figures, the German government’s 2030 target will be missed by a significant margin – which makes it all the more important that politicians consider fiber optic expansion to be a high-priority issue for society as a whole. In order to ensure investment security for the expanding companies, fiber optic expansion must remain at the top of the political agenda. Above all, this includes a concrete concept for the competition- and consumer-friendly transition from copper to fiber optic networks. The fact that the Federal Network Agency and the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport recently committed to a corresponding roadmap is an important first step. We now need to press ahead with implementation at full speed – the final concept must be available by spring 2025 at the latest and must not be slowed down by the election campaign and federal elections.”

BREKO Managing Director Dr. Stephan Albers ventured a look ahead and formulated measures for the next federal government:

“It must be clear to the new federal government across all parties that Germany can only play at the top in the future with a future-proof and sustainable digital infrastructure. An immediate program for the expansion of fiber optics must therefore be part of the new federal government’s 100-day program. As formulated in our position paper for the 2025 federal elections, this primarily includes an acceleration law worthy of the name. We finally need less bureaucracy and more speed in the approval process. A boost for the digital transformation would also be to finally create an independent digital ministry in which strategic digital topics such as digital infrastructure, administrative digitalization and IT security are managed centrally.”

BREKO survey: Advantages of fiber optics must become better known

Another topic of discussion in Berlin was how politicians and businesses can convince the population of the many advantages of a fiber optic connection in order to increase its use. Currently, 61% of Germans have heard that fiber optic Internet provides faster download speeds and faster upload speeds (51%). However, only 23 percent are aware that fiber optic is less susceptible to interference and only 10 percent know that the technology consumes less power than DSL or cable Internet. Around 3 in 10 know that fiber optic reliably delivers the booked service (29%), is future-proof and has low latency (31% each). In contrast, around one in four Germans are unaware of the benefits of fiber optics (26%). These are the results of a representative online survey of more than 2,500 people aged 18 and over conducted by the opinion research institute Civey on behalf of BREKO.

According to the survey, a not insignificant proportion consider the advantages of fiber optics, such as higher transmission speeds or low latency, to be relevant in many areas of application. Almost half cite the simultaneous use of the Internet connection in a household (48%), followed by working from home and streaming films and series (40% each). Around one in five (18%) consider the advantages of fiber optics to be relevant for online gaming and 12% for the use of cloud services.

BREKO Vice President Rauscher: “The results show that the advantages of fiber optics are highly relevant for a certain proportion of the population, but unfortunately too many people are still unaware of them. It is of course up to the companies to convince people of the benefits of an all-round strong and reliable product. At the same time, a fiber optic image campaign – already initiated by the German government – could arouse interest and break down prejudices. We also consider the idea of a financial subsidy in the form of a voucher for booking a fiber optic tariff to be a sensible solution.”

BREKO children’s book: “The sloth that finally wanted to become fast”

BREKO presented a contribution to greater fiber optic acceptance at its annual conference today: The children’s book “Vom Faultier, das endlich schnell werden wollte” (About the sloth that finally wanted to become fast) is aimed at young and old children and conveys the advantages of fiber-optic connections. BREKO CEO Albers: “With this children’s book, we want to make a vivid contribution to demonstrating the importance of fiber optic expansion and why politics and business must pull together to make it a success.”

The book is now available free of charge as an e-book: Request e-book