Deutsche Telekom announced it will be investing up to 1.1 billion euros to build broadband network in the Stuttgart region.
Deutsche Telekom said its fiber-optic coverage will reach the state capital of Stuttgart and the five surrounding districts Boblingen, Esslingen, Goppingen, Ludwigsburg, and Rems-Murr, targeting 179 cities and municipalities.
Both partners share the goal of supplying 90 percent of company sites in business parks with fiber to the home (FTTH) by 2022. By 2025, half of all households, all business parks, and all eligible schools will be connected with FTTH. 90 of the total 1.38 million households will benefit from gigabit lines by 2030. All of the nearly 140,000 company sites and businesses will be covered by 2030.
Dirk Wossner, member of Deutsche Telekom board, said: “Deutsche Telekom is planning, building, and operating the networks of tomorrow, together with partners in some cases. Our partnership with the Stuttgart Region will be an example of how this can work.”
“We will be relying on the support of the 179 cities and municipalities in the Region when it comes to rapid execution on site. We will open our fiber-optic network to third parties at fair market conditions,” Dirk Wossner said.
Investment
Deutsche Telekom will invest up to 1.1 billion euros in the fixed-network area. The Stuttgart Region will provide 500 million euros to the competitive rollout. Deutsche Telekom and other competitors can purchase or lease existing infrastructure in the municipalities. This can include existing optical fiber or empty pipes. Funding from the state or federal governments may also be tapped in competitive tenders.
Deutsche Telekom said its LTE coverage in the Stuttgart Region will be expanded to include 98 percent of the population. Deutsche Telekom plans to build new mobile base stations. The Stuttgart Region will be one of the first in Germany to get 5G network. There are also plans to found a broadband company for the Stuttgart Region.
Deutsche Telekom already planned to install more than 11,000 kilometers of optical fiber in the region. Deutsche Telekom already operates the largest fiber-optic network in Germany, with 450,000 kilometers. The company laid around 40,000 kilometers of optical fiber in 2017 and will add an additional 60,000 this year.
