On Tuesday, the EU Commission approved the restructuring of the German state aid scheme to promote gigabit networks. Brussels originally approved the state funding in autumn 2020. It was due to expire at the end of 2025, but will now be extended until the end of 2028. At the same time, financial resources could be increased from 26 billion to a total of 38 billion euros. This increase is to be financed by the federal government and 13 billion euros equally by the states and municipalities.
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The further development of the federal broadband funding program launched in 2020 by then-Infrastructure Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) is mainly about closing the “grey spots”. In contrast to the “white spots” with no internet connection at all, these are areas where there is already – comparatively slow – broadband coverage. This is to be upgraded with gigabit-capable connections: The federal government – in line with the EU – has promised gigabit for all households and companies by 2030. The aim of the funding program is to provide end users with a data transfer rate of at least 1 Gbit/s for download and upload – i.e. symmetrically.
Commission: Bandwidth tripled
Based on the revised guidelines, federal and state governments can now provide assistance to sectors in which the following requirements are met: So far there can only be one network that offers data rates between 100 and 300 Mbit/s for download and 150 Mbit/s for upload. The existing broadband infrastructure should not even be able to be upgraded through modest investments to offer speeds of at least 1 Gbit/s for download and 150 Mbit/s for upload. In addition, no investments can be planned within the same time frame by a private operator in a network with data rates of at least 1 Gbit/s for download and 150 Mbit/s for upload. The “ceiling” for state expansion aid, which was initially set at 100 Mbit/s, was in fact to be eliminated without replacement at the beginning of 2023.
The new version finances infrastructure such as empty conduits, cable distributors, nodes or unconnected fiber optic lines as well as active equipment for gigabit networks. The aid is given in the form of direct grants and covers up to 100 percent of the eligible costs. Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager hopes that this will at least triple the bandwidth and “significantly improve the availability of gigabit broadband networks in underserved areas.” On the other hand, industry associations such as VATM and Breco view the government cash injection with great skepticism. According to them, fiber optic expansion projects in Germany run faster, more efficiently and more market-oriented without tax money than their funded counterparts, which are inherently longer and involve many bureaucratic challenges.
(vbr)
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