The majority of the fast Internet in Germany comes via cables and VDSL copper lines. But the fiber optic connections are catching up.
The supply of fast fiber optic Internet in Germany has improved significantly. Last year, the number of available connections rose from 6.4 to 8.3 million, as the industry association Breko reported.
Fiber optics have achieved a market share of 17.7 percent, while fast Internet via cable and VDSL copper lines is still much more widespread. The association expects 26 million available fiber optic connections by 2024.
Of this, 10 million should come from Deutsche Telekom and 16 million from their competitors, it said. The association brings together Telekom’s competitors in the broadband market. In 2020, according to the figures, three quarters of the available fiber optic connections came from telecom competitors. In the case of Breko members, 43 percent of the households connected also book Internet access via fiber optics. In 2019, the share was 42 percent.
In the coming years, the association is preparing for increasing demand in view of the rapidly growing data traffic in companies and private households. The head of the study, Jens Böcker, warned that the civil engineering capacities available in Germany could be a bottleneck in the expansion of fiber optics.
Breko President Norbert Westfal also emphasized that the necessary investments for the expansion are available. However, politicians continue to rely “very strongly and rigidly” on the broadest possible use of funding. However, the provision of extensive state funds alone does not lead to a faster expansion of fiber optics, stressed Westfal. In practice, the implementation of funded projects takes longer than the expansion without the use of taxpayers’ money. Support from the state only makes sense where the supply is poor and the economic basis for expansion in the near future is lacking.
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