eco on the Progress Report of the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV)

Klaus Landefeld, Chair of the Board of eco - Association of the Internet Industry, comments on the progress report on the Gigabit Strategy presented today by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV):

"With the amendment of the Telecommunications Act and the adoption of a Gigabit Strategy, policymakers have set a fundamentally positive course. However, we cannot share the optimism of the BMDV, as its effectiveness still has to be proven in practice. It can be noted that the companies involved in the expansion have invested in line with their announcements, and as a result, both fiber optic and mobile network expansion have been driven forward despite increased expansion costs and the ongoing shortage of skilled workers. However, even though significant progress has been made, other countries have not been idle either, and Germany remains at the bottom of the list of OECD countries in terms of fibre-optic use. In any case, it remains questionable whether the expansion target of 100% by 2030 will be achieved, and there is also a complete lack of a concept or timetable for the upcoming copper-glass migration. We also consider the different levels of expansion and progress in the federal states to be problematic, as well as the fact that the approval procedures are still not coordinated - building law remains a state matter. It is important to further improve the interaction between the German federal government, federal states and municipalities and to link it with targeted gigabit funding that is tailored to the specific needs."