Groundbreaking ceremony for the further fibre-optic expansion: Mayor Ulrich Proske (left) and Johannes Bisping from the network operator in Reitgesing. © Stefan Rossmann
In Ebersberg, the expansion of the fibre optic network for hamlets in the rural part of the district town that are not yet served has begun.
Ebersberg – In order for 20 people to come together for a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony, it takes nice weather on the one hand and a construction project worth millions on the other. Such an occasion now presented itself for the city of Ebersberg. The town hall is pleased about the start of the fibre-optic expansion for the hamlets in the rural part of the district town that have not yet been supplied: Traxl, Englmeng, Egglburg and Reitgesing.
163 households are supplied free of charge
A state-of-the-art fibre optic cable for lightning-fast broadband internet coverage is no thicker than a human hair after peeling off all the protective covers. 163 households now receive such a fibre free of charge – in the state-subsidised expansion, the connection fee is waived.
However, this does not mean that the measure is cheap, laying fiber optics means building infrastructure, as with the electricity or road network. The project volume in the current Ebersberg case is 3.3 million euros, making connection costs of around 163,20 euros per fiber-optic hair for 000 households. Broadband expansion is a costly undertaking because of the long distances with sparse population in the countryside: 55 kilometers of fiber optics are needed for the hamlets around the district town, according to those involved in the project.
Before Ebersberg's mayor, Ulrich Proske, together with representatives of the town hall, network operator, project sponsor, construction company, consulting firm, Office for Digitalization, Broadband and Surveying and the press, symbolically poked a spade into the pile of sand heaped up for this purpose – construction is not expected to really start for another two weeks – he once again emphasized the importance of the infrastructure project.
Mayor Ulrich Proske: "It's really going to be the highest railway"
"It's really going to be the highest railway!" The Corona crisis in particular has shown that there are also many subscribers in rural areas, such as engineering firms, which produce enormous data streams and are therefore dependent on good broadband coverage. Johannes Bisping from the network operator, who has virtually a monopoly on connections in the expansion sector for the first seven years, echoed the same sentiment: "Companies only flourish in terms of digitization when they have the opportunity to do so." The company Bisping & Bisping from Lauf an der Pegnitz will initially become the sole Internet provider for the newly expanded area as a network operator, unless other providers such as Telekom or Vodafone rent their fiber optic network.
According to the plan, it will take around 17 months of construction time before the fibre-optic broadband is available to all households in the connection area. The city of Ebersberg has to cover 20 percent of the costs, i.e. around 660,000 euros, 30 percent of which will come from funding from the Free State of Bavaria. The lion's share of 50 percent of the measure will be borne by the federal government. The broadband expansion for Ebersberg is not enough, Mayor Proske noted. There is a lot of catching up to do in the core of the district town: "Many millions are still being buried there."
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