Merkel Seeks 12 Billion Euros Fiber Internet Buildout

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition wants to spend as much as 12 billion euros modernizing the nation’s broadband network with fiberoptic cables to boost internet speeds, according to Bloomberg.

Merkel’s coalition wants to cover the country with "gigabit" speed internet networks by 2025 and plans to put 10 to 12 billion euros in a special fund to help supply underserved regions with fiber lines, ideally directly to the home, according to a copy of the coalition agreement obtained by Bloomberg. Germany needs a "comprehensive, world-class digital infrastructure,“ the parties said in the agreement. "We want the shift to fiber.“

Merkel has in the past repeatedly called for a build-out of Germany’s high-speed internet infrastructure to satisfy consumer demands and protect the industry in Europe’s biggest economy. Whether the plan succeeds will depend on whether Deutsche Telekom, which has in the past modernized its copper-based infrastructure, will increase the share of fiber lines that run directly to homes, which are challenging to build and expensive.

The former monopoly has said it wants to add 60,000 kilometers of fiber lines this year, without specifying how many of those connections would link directly to homes. Vodafone plans to invest an incremental 2 billion euros by 2021 on fiber lines in Germany through a partnership with fiber specialist Deutsche Glasfaser.

The coalition is seeking to take the lead in 5G by giving out new frequencies only in return for investment commitments. It also plans to create an artificial intelligence research center with France along with reducing bureaucracy and reforming the insolvency law to make it easier for startups to be created. They also want to develop a comprehensive blockchain strategy and lobby for "appropriate" regulation of crypto-currency trading to benefit from the opportunities created by those technologies while preventing misuse. To reach all those goals, the coalition is considering creating a "digital agency“ that would help the government implement its plans.