Deutsche Telekom to Spend €1.1bn on Flagship Fibre Project

Deutsche Telekom will spend up to €1.1 billion on a project to roll out extensive fibre infrastructure in the region of Stuttgart in cooperation with local authorities.

The German incumbent on Monday signed a letter of intent with representatives of the region and said it expects to ink the final contract by the end of the year. Work will then start immediately.

The region will provide funding of up to €500 million to support the rollout of fibre in 179 cities and municipalities in the state capital of Stuttgart and the five surrounding districts of Böblingen, Esslingen, Göppingen, Ludwigsburg, and Rems-Murr.

“Of all the competitors, Deutsche Telekom submitted the best binding bid by far,” said Walter Rogg, managing director of the Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation (WRS). “They can make use of existing fibre-optic networks to a large extent, which will accelerate the rollout and cut costs.”

The rollout with be a lengthy undertaking. The project aims to make fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connections available to 90% of company sites in business parks by 2022, and to half of all households, all business parks and all eligible schools by 2025.

By 2030 gigabit lines will reach 90% of the 1.38 million households in the region and all of the 140,000 businesses.

“We will put our shoulders to the wheel to make the region a flagship and prove that their trust in us is not misplaced,” said Dirk Wössner, member of the management board at Deutsche Telekom responsible for business in Germany.

“The project has a long-term scope, but its short-term successes will be tangible to many,” Wössner added.

“And we will open our fibre-optic network to third parties at fair market conditions,” he said. “To accomplish this, we also need a legal framework that rewards investment and provides legal certainty: Regulation must not stand in the way of this innovative partnership model, the first of its kind in Germany.” – Total Telecom