German government presents broadband strategy details

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German government presents broadband strategy details Wednesday 18 February 2009



The German federal government plans to use a large portion of the digital dividend frequencies for broadband services to ensure all German households have access to a broadband connection by the end of 2010. The first phase of the strategy is to ensure broadband access for all households in Germany by 2010 and the government follows the telecom industry demands for using digital dividend to enable operators to deploy wireless and mobile broadband services in rural areas, currently without broadband coverage via fixed networks like DSL or cable. The second phase of the broadband strategy is to ensure that 75 percent of German households have access to a broadband connection of at least 50 Mbps by 2014. To ensure a good execution, the government will focus on four areas: speeding up digital dividend auctions; to push operators to seek synergy via joint infrastructure deployments; to ensure growth-and innovation-oriented regulation, and to give the necessary financial support. The government has unveiled 15 measures to be taken during the next weeks and months to support the broadband strategy including opening up all existing networks from federal, state, local governments as well as of companies for third parties to use plus an auction of digital dividend frequencies between 790 and 862 MHz. The government will also use funds from its second economic stimulus plans plus the joint GAK (improvement of coastal and agricultural structures) and GRW (improving regional economic structures) plans to ensure broadband coverage in areas where commercial parties fail.

German ICT industry organisation Bitkom welcomed the strategy and is especially happy with the government’s promise to make regulation more investment friendly. Bitkom’s president Wilhelm Scheer remarked that the strategy means up to EUR 50 billion in investments during the coming years and that it will create up 250,000 jobs. German public-private partnership for ICT promotion, Initiative D21, also welcomed the broadband strategy as the much needed basis for a digital society, especially using digital dividend to close broadband gaps. A similar reaction came from the president of the German chambers of commerce organisation DIHK, Ludwig Georg Braun, who also said that with a complete broadband coverage, Germany can offer e-learning, e-healt and e-government services to everybody, thus being future-proof. Germany’s largest alternative operator Vodafone has also reacted positively to the broadband strategy and its CEO Friedrich Joussen said that the operator will continue to invest in expanding its mobile and fixed broadband networks supporting the government in its strategy