The success story of broadband funding in the state does not stop: In the current round, 25 recipients received more than 165 million euros in the form of funding decisions. Since 2016, more than five billion euros have been invested in the country’s nationwide gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure.
“We are vigorously continuing our investment offensive for high-speed Internet: today with more than 165 million euros in the form of funding decisions – that is the second-largest funding amount that we have ever awarded. With every single grant, we are making a powerful contribution to our cities and communities being able to take advantage of the opportunities offered by digitization,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Digitization Thomas Strobl on Monday, July 3, 2023 in Stuttgart.
In the current handover round, Digitization Minister Thomas Strobl handed over 55 grant notifications to 25 grant recipients from 17 districts in the amount of 165,230,926.30 euros. In total, 15,741 subscriber connections will be created with the funding applications. This includes 70 school connections, 3,324 connections for businesses, 62 connections for public institutions and three connections for hospitals.
More than five billion euros for broadband funding
“Baden-Württemberg is a motor of the German and European economy and we do everything we can to ensure that it stays that way. As a high-tech location, we need a sustainable gigabit infrastructure for this. That’s why we, as a public sector, support us with ours broadband promotion. Because one thing is clear: no one can master this task of the century alone. We need the triad of private and publicly funded expansion and the municipalities. We are proud that, as a public sector, we have already invested more than five billion euros in this task of the century,” explained Minister Thomas Strobl.
A special feature of this handover round is that most of the applications are backbone applications. Eight of the 55 applications are options for relocation, which are being taken. “By relocating, we are creating important infrastructure synergy effects, because nobody wants roads and sidewalks to have to be torn up multiple times. With clever planning, the municipalities achieve these synergies by bundling as many civil engineering measures as possible,” says Digitization Minister Thomas Strobl.
Examples of currently funded projects
the applicant OEW Broadband GmbH receives two notifications with the highest grants: one for the expansion of the gray areas in the district of Reutlingen (Cluster North: communities Bad-Urach, Dettingen an der Erms, Eningen unter Achalm, Grabenstetten, Hülben, Pfullingen, Pliezhausen, St. Johann and Wannweil ) in the amount of 50,115,907.20 euros, the other for the expansion of the gray areas in the district of Biberach (cluster LK BC Ost: municipalities of Schwendi, Maselheim, Warthausen, Gutenzell-Hürbel, Ochsenhausen, Dettingen an der Iller, Tannheim and Erlenmoos) ; the grant here is 53,106,872.40 euros. The approval takes the form of 40 percent part financing from the state. The federal government provides 50 percent of the total funding. Each municipality contributes ten percent of its own money.
In the course of laying a new drinking water pipeline from Aufhausen to Wannenhöfe in the town of Geislingen an der Steige, fiber optic infrastructure is also being laid. The amount of the grant for this project is 113,728.00 euros.
In the municipality of Bad Peterstal-Griesbach, cable protection pipes are being laid at the same time as the cycle path is being expanded. The amount of the grant for this project is 17,292.00 euros.
Broadband funding in Baden-Württemberg
Since 2016, 3,494 projects have been supported by the state with around 2.46 billion euros and by the federal government with a further 2.78 billion euros – together around 5.24 billion euros. In the current double budget 2023/24, the state is providing a program volume of 661.5 million euros for broadband funding.
After the funding stop in autumn 2022, the federal government now has its new Gigabit Policy submitted. With the entry into force of the new funding guidelines, all address points that do not have a gigabit-capable connection can be expanded. At the beginning of 2023, the threshold of 100 megabits per second (Mbit/s) was dropped. According to the plans from Berlin, Baden-Württemberg will have the third-highest annual federal funding budget in 2023 at 320 million euros. The state will continue to top up the federal subsidy rate of 50 percent and contribute 40 percent to the eligible costs, so that applicants can continue to count on a total subsidy rate of up to 90 percent.
Ministry of the Interior, for Digitization and Municipalities: Overview of the newly funded broadband projects (PDF)
2023-07-03 14:31:51
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