Internet
Gigabit funding exhausted – Bavaria and Hesse protest
A mast with various antennas from mobile phone providers against a blue sky. photo
© Jens Büttner/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
Internet connections are slow in many villages – a stumbling block for economic development. The demand from communities for federal grants is so great that the money is insufficient.
According to Bavaria and Hesse, the federal government prematurely stopped its gigabit funding for fast Internet this year because of exhausted funding. Both federal states protested on Wednesday and accused the federal government of a lack of coordination. For the time being, cities and municipalities can no longer apply for federal subsidies for the expansion of the fiber optic network. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder and Finance Minister Albert Füracker (both CSU) accused the federal government of not keeping promises.
“The federal freeze on gigabit funding is a fatal mistake,” criticized Füracker. The gigabit funding is intended for rural communities in which the expansion of the fiber optic network is not worthwhile for the private sector due to the high costs for telecom companies. A total of twelve billion euros are earmarked for this, or around three billion annually. This year, the money did not last until the end of the year due to the high demand.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) defended the stop by the federal government for this year. The funding amounting to three billion euros that was available this year has been exhausted, said Wissing. This means that the “Grey Spots” program is particularly successful. The program will continue in 2023. Wissing does not see expansion targets at risk.
Poor coordination between the federal and state governments?
The aim of the gigabit program is a nationwide high-speed network for all households, companies, schools and hospitals in Germany. “The funding freeze hits us hard and comes unexpectedly,” complained Hesse’s Digital Minister Kristina Sinemus (CDU). “The insufficient exchange between the federal and state governments and the resulting lack of coordination have led to this fatal situation, the CDU politician accused the Berlin ministry.
CSU boss Söder said that the new federal government had set out to advance digitization in rural areas. Now it looks like the gigabit promotion should be canceled. “Take out debts of 300 billion and not have a cent left for gigabit funding is simply a completely wrong signal for the country’s future viability,” criticized the CSU boss.
Bavaria is the largest federal state in terms of area, with a comparatively low population density in the countryside. However, rural communities in other non-city states are also dependent on the grants.
Füracker criticized the fact that municipalities had invested a lot of money and time in planning, trusting in this federal promise. “Everyone involved is now suddenly faced with nothing. This is a massive breach of trust,” the CSU politician accused the federal government.
Federal government information on gigabit funding