The German Broadband Association (BREKO) welcomed 800 representatives from business, politics, administration and science to the Estrel Berlin today for the political highlight of the year for the telecommunications industry. Federal Minister Volker Wissing praised the rapid pace of fiber optic expansion and promised to further improve the framework conditions. Industry representatives made concrete demands to reduce state subsidies, radically simplify approval procedures, prevent the strategic double expansion of the market-dominant company and make the shutdown of copper networks more competitive.

BREKO welcomes the BMDV's initiative to develop recommendations for action for sustainable fiber optic and mobile expansion together with industry and to support companies in implementing effective sustainability measures. The key points and the meta-study are an important first step towards sustainable fiber-optic and mobile expansion. Nevertheless, BREKO expects the recommendations for action that are now to be developed to include truly concrete measures in order to make the best possible use of the sustainability potential.

Comprehensive fiber optic networks form the future-proof basis for the digital transformation of the economy and society. Only through the comprehensive use of digital technologies can Germany successfully master the energy transition and thus meet its climate protection obligations. Telecommunications companies are aware of this great responsibility and want to roll out the fiber optic infrastructure nationwide as quickly as possible. To ensure that the expansion of fiber optics continues to make rapid progress, we appeal to the federal government to provide stable and investment-friendly framework conditions.

Associations call for improvements to the framework conditions for grid expansion

We finally need more speed in the approval process for infrastructure projects. We therefore welcome the agreement between the federal and state governments to tackle this issue as a priority. The pact contains important approaches to simplify and digitalize the approval process for fibre optic expansion. However, it is crucial that this is also implemented consistently.

The regional committee of the German Broadband Communications Association (BREKO) has a new chairperson: Sabrina-Maria Geißler, Managing Director of wittenberg-net, is taking over the leadership of the umbrella committee of the ten BREKO regional groups from the long-standing chairwoman Ulla Meixner, Head of Telecommunications at Stadtwerke Flensburg.

The study shows that the strategic dual expansion and also pure dual expansion announcements by Telekom pose a major problem for the further successful expansion of fiber optics in Germany. Germany cannot afford to wait and hesitate on this issue, which is crucial for achieving the expansion targets, in view of the many companies and investors willing to expand. We expect the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport to take concrete measures immediately on the basis of these findings in order to stop Telekom's strategic double expansion activities.

The fact that the total number of funding applications exceeds the available funds by 50 percent confirms our fears that the federal government's gigabit funding program will not work in its current form.

BREKO supports the aim of the "Digital Networks Act" to improve the framework conditions for even more investment in fiber optic expansion. However, this does not fit in with the fact that the EU Commission itself caused considerable uncertainty among fiber optic investors with its draft for a Gigabit Infrastructure Act this year by proposing regulations that would facilitate the strategic dual expansion of fiber optic networks.

On Wednesday in Leipzig, the Saxony Fiber Optic Forum brought together all relevant players involved in fiber optic expansion in the Free State for the first time. At the joint event organized by the German Broadband Association (BREKO) and Leipziger Messe as part of the netze:ON trade fair, more than 70 participants from the telecommunications industry, federal, state and local politics discussed how competition in the fibre optic market can be sensibly shaped, what is necessary for gigabit funding to meaningfully complement the roll-out of self-sufficient networks and where companies, municipalities, districts and the state can improve their exchange with each other in order to make fibre optics available nationwide by 2030.