Broadband, fiber optics and 5G in Bavaria: Companies are demanding speed in network expansion - Corona is fueling future plans

Created: 01/21/2022, 09:00

By: Cornelia Schramm

Surfing at record speed: Faster internet can soon be booked where fiber optics have been laid.

© dpa/symbol picture

Home office has become normal in the pandemic.

But internet and cellphone lines have to be able to withstand it.

Grid expansion in Bavaria is making slow progress.

Munich

– Despite improvements, more than half of Bavarian companies feel impaired by poor internet quality.

According to a study presented by the Bavarian Business Association (vbw) on Thursday, 54 percent said so.

However, more than half of the companies also stated that they were satisfied with the Internet - more than ever in the regular survey, said Bertram Brossardt, Managing Director of vbw.

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Stream video conferences, digital presentations and events: "The pandemic* became an unexpected test," says Brossardt.

"Despite the high load, the systems held up." This is shown by the study and the progress made in broadband network expansion: the basic supply in Germany is 30 megabits per second.

In the middle of last year, however, 90.7 percent of households in Bavaria were potentially supplied with at least 100 megabits per second.

That is five percentage points more than at the end of 2019. With a potential gigabit per second, the level of coverage with 500,000 additional households rose by 9.4 percentage points to 64 percent last year.

In the case of commercial locations, however, the rates are somewhat worse at 89.9 and 58.6 percent respectively.

Broadband expansion in Bavaria: Albert Füracker calls for "one gigabit for everyone"

"The goal is one gigabit for everyone," said Bavaria's Minister of Finance and Homeland, Albert Füracker (CSU).

In the mobile communications sector, for example, 5G must become the standard.

More than half of the companies will continue to rely heavily on network-dependent technologies in the future to enable mobile working.

"By 2025, 5G is a key goal*," said Brossardt.

In general, mobile phone reception in rural areas, for example on country and state roads, "still needs a lot of development".

The biggest differences between urban and rural areas are in the area of ​​very fast Internet: In the city, 86.9 percent of households have access to one gigabit per second – in densely populated regions it is 53.3 percent and in rural areas only 27 percent. Fast Internet, i.e. at least 100 megabits per second, is already available to 77 percent of households in rural areas. This puts Bavaria above the national average of 69 percent.

The word "potential" is important when it comes to the information on the supply status: Not every household uses the Internet capacities that are available, says Füracker.

"With the Free State's broadband guide, anyone can find out what is available and switch to another of the 45 providers in Bavaria." Of the approximately 7.5 million existing fiber optic connections in Germany, only 33 percent were used in 2021.

The problem: Where there is no demand, telecommunications companies do not continue to expand - so one should use the offer, so Füracker's appeal.