It’s been a few years now, but there was a lot of excitement back then when a new chapter in digitization swept through Bavaria. This did not happen in 2016 in the form of video conferences, thanks to which an entire working day could suddenly be organized from home in jogging pants. Digitization meant free WiFi, which the municipalities and the Free State of Bavaria wanted to gradually make available to people in public spaces. This also heated up some tempers: In Wolfratshausen, for example, the Green City Councilor Hans Schmidt expressed concerns about radiation exposure and in Lenggries local councilors of the Free Voters feared that a hotspot at the station would attract young people and turn the forecourt into a focal point.
Six years later we know: the worries have mostly turned out to be unfounded. So far, research has not been able to prove a connection between cancer and mobile phone radiation, and Lenggries has by no means become an unsafe place due to the hotspot at the train station. The discussion about free WiFi, on the other hand, has died down a bit. This is probably due to the fact that many usage contracts for smartphones nowadays include unlimited data volume from the Internet, and that tourists from other EU countries are no longer charged higher usage prices than in their EU home country, so they are spared horrendous mobile phone bills if they return from hiking in Upper Bavaria. In addition, the question of data protection concerns more people than a few years ago: dialing into public connections makes it easier for third parties to steal data. Nevertheless, they still exist, the free WiFi networks for everyone. A search in the district even comes to the conclusion: they are better than expected.
Internet for every mobile phone: There is a hotspot at Lenggries train station that people like to use.
(Photo: Harry Wolfsbauer)
The journey begins in Lenggries. To be more precise, at the train station, where Markus Landthaler of the Free Voters once prophesied youthful riots through the hotspot. The sky is blue and the station area comes alive with numerous hikers. Bayern Wlan has set up a hotspot where many people start their excursions into the mountains. The initiative of the Ministry of Finance and Homeland had set itself the goal of setting up a dense network of free WiFi hotspots via the provider Vodafone by 2020. According to their own information, there are now even more than 30,000 such points, and a maximum of two locations per municipality are financially supported. After brief difficulties with the server identity, the mobile phone can be easily connected to the WiFi in Lenggries. Anyone who agrees to the terms of use will be greeted with the landing page by the Free State, and in this case that means: with the summary of the last cabinet meeting. Bavaria as a holiday destination of superlatives and the goal of expanding digital tourism is a fitting description. If you start a hike from Lenggries, like most people who get off the train that day, you can research the starting point, route and places to stop for refreshments on the Internet. After about 50 meters in the direction of the town center, the wifi ends. Here the well-tried analogue signage takes over the escort.
Bayernlan also receives at the somewhat lonely and remote train station in Bad Tölz, but quickly disappears from the screen again. The display remains empty until the old town, then a local player gets on in front of the town hall: toelzspot is the in-house WLAN of the municipality, which has been available free of charge since 2015. But unfortunately it is not a reliable companion, on the walk in the direction of the pedestrian zone it is soon eliminated. Where small shops and cafés alternate, there is no internet connection. However, the guests are already busy admiring the picturesque old town or eating their ice cream, so nobody thirsts for their mobile phones. Nothing is happening in the Bürgergarten and in the lower pedestrian zone, only private connections from shops and apartments are displayed. In front of the Bulle-von-Tölz-Museum, a network named Wifi free with, but it turns out to be a fallacy, a stable connection cannot be established with it. But the “Tölzspot” is back at the central bus station Isarkai – at least for a short time.
The journey to Wolfratshausen is continued by bus: along the Isar we first head in the direction of Königsdorf. Something is happening here that is not unusual for rural areas in Bavaria: the connection is bad, here and there there are even dead spots. Without a network and without WLAN, there is nothing left but to look out of the bus window at fields and forests as in the old days. Bayernlan is suddenly back somewhere near Rothmühle, and the connection also remains stable in Osterhofen. Doubts are slowly being raised: have hotspots been set up in these small towns, or is the bus itself a hotspot? To answer the question, you have to get off the bus in Königsdorf. The wireless network actually moves away with the means of transport. A hotspot is also missing in Königsdorf. But thanks to the printed timetable at the bus stop, you can quickly find out about the next departure.
There is also WiFi in many buses, such as the X970, which connects the three cities in the district.
(Photo: Harry Wolfsbauer)
The next bus in the direction of Wolfratshausen, which is also equipped with Bayernlan, can be researched on the Internet: Since 2018, the Free State has been supporting local authorities in setting up WLAN in local public transport and is apparently doing so successfully. In Wolfratshausen, on the other hand, the municipality takes care of the supply. “Free Key Wolfratshausen” is the name of the connection, it can be made on the Loisach at the Alte Floßlände, where cyclists put their tired legs in the cool river or stretch out on the bank. Anyone who connects to the local WLAN is greeted with a holiday offer on the landing page: four nights last minute, including guided alpine hikes. Apart from that, the Wolfratshauser WLAN is impeccable, even on the Obermarkt, where most people hang out. If you leave the center, you also leave the network. In private apartments, at work and in tourist accommodation, private WiFi will take over anyway. The gaps in between are getting smaller and smaller.