Altkirchen has been through a lot. In 1632 the Swedes devastated the small town in the Thirty Years’ War, later the plague raged. Since then, the hamlet near Sauerlach has been quiet. But now it is to be catapulted into the modern age – and with it the whole community. All of Sauerlach should have a fiber optic network in three years, as one of the first municipalities in the state.
The highlight: the community should cost almost nothing to set up and operate the network. For this purpose, the municipality enters into a partnership with Deutsche Glasfaser, and the company will operate the network expansion privately. The company behind which the Swedish investor EQT is behind is currently driving a similar project in Hohenbrunn. As a visible sign that there will be high-speed connections in the town in the future, three so-called Pops, Point of Presence, have recently been set up. Incoming and outgoing data traffic should be routed from these main distributors. They will connect the place with the world at the speed of light. The civil engineering work for the lines is to begin next spring in Hohenbrunn and the districts of Riemerling and Luitpoldsiedlung.
In Sauerlach, the establishment of a network is still at the very beginning. Enrico Hesse, who is responsible for cooperation with local authorities at Deutsche Glasfaser, recently made it clear to the local council that his company was of course not just a benefactor. “Our interest in getting fiber optics underground is of course to generate returns.” Deutsche Glasfaser will not, of its own accord, join all parts of the community. With an area of almost 57 square kilometers, Sauerlach is by far the largest municipality in the Munich district; the twelve parts of the community, including small wastelands and hamlets such as Gumpertsham or Kleineichenhausen, are far apart and scattered. The company wants to connect the districts of Arget, Lanzenhaar, Lochhofen and the main town Sauerlach to the fiber optic network – and the hamlet of Walchstatt with its ten houses. This small district should only be able to enjoy the high-speed connections because it is close to the A8, on which the main lines run.
The world is a village: The Altenkirchen district of Sauerlach will soon be connected to the fast internet via fiber optics.
(Photo: Claus Schunk)
For Sauerlachs Mayor Barbara Bogner (UBV) the offer is “an opportunity that we absolutely have to seize”. Which is also urgently needed. While in countries like South Korea or Spain more than 80 percent of households are already connected to the fiber optic network, in Germany it is less than ten percent. In addition to cooperation with the private sector, municipalities are also taking other paths. The district of Cham, for example, has founded its own municipal company; a good half of the district is already supplied with fiber optics. Sauerlachs Weg, on the other hand, can only be successful if enough households can be connected to the high-speed network. The magic mark for the so-called bundling of demand is 33 percent – that’s how many households have to declare their willingness to conclude a contract, only then does the company get involved.
Before cables are laid, modern measurement methods must first be used to determine where fiber optic lines can be laid. Instead of using an open construction method, the cables should then be laid using noise-reducing milling technology or so-called earth rockets. The supply lines to the house are made through deep boreholes under the front yard or the driveway. Anyone who does not decide on a connection can do so later: The lines are laid right up to the property line. According to the company, the network expansion in the entire Sauerlach area could be completed by the beginning of 2024. The company does not provide any precise information about the costs per household. Company representative Hesse speaks of “market prices”. Municipal facilities such as town hall, schools and kindergartens are to receive special tariffs.
The future of the fiber optic cable has not yet noticeably arrived in Pullach. Just one percent of households have a fiber optic connection. The council is in the middle of considering how to increase the availability of the fast network, says Peter Kotzur, head of construction technology in the town hall and technical director of the supply, construction and service company (VBS) of the municipality. VBS is thinking about finding a supplier who is ready to expand and operate the network.
The problem in Pullach is that the basic service offered by Telekom is so good that the municipality does not receive any funding from the Free State for the expansion of fiber optics. “Too good for funding, but too bad for modern fiber optic operation,” is how Kotzur sums up the Pullach dilemma. Possible providers could not earn any money with the expansion of the Pullach fiber optic network, which is why Telekom and M-Net were still very hesitant. Regardless of this, the VBS is already laying empty conduits – “for the glass fibers to be blown in later,” as Kotzur says.
The municipality of Ismaning is fortunate to be able to rely on district heating for its energy supply – the broadband expansion also benefits from this, as new lines can be laid parallel to the pipes. The Ismaning municipal power supply (SVI) is responsible for this. Almost 52 kilometers of fiber optics have now been laid in the community, says Mayor Alexander Greulich (SPD).
Thanks to the cooperation with the M-Net company, outdoor areas such as the Fischerhäuser district now have a fiber optic connection. “There it would have been too expensive for us as a community because of the distance,” says Greulich. The combination of district heating and fiber optics is also a real locational advantage for the municipality. mm, hard
Districts that are not connected at the expense of German fiber optics do not have to do without fast internet either. The parish village of Altkirchen and the hamlet of Grafing would be connected on behalf of the community and with funding from the federal government and the Free State, assures Sauerlachs Mayor Bogner. Perhaps the people of Altkirchen will soon experience something that they did not expect so quickly.