Status: 07/20/2023 5:36 p.m
Fast Internet for everyone – that will probably remain a dream in many places. For years, Lower Saxony has promoted broadband expansion. Now the country has to save and is stopping the grants.
Jerking video conferences and data transfer at a snail’s pace: Problems with bad internet are no longer a priority for the red-green state government. The state will leave the grants for the next year broadband expansion leak. Most recently, Lower Saxony added around 120 million euros per year. That will be gone in the future. The Ministry of Economics in Hanover justified this with austerity measures: “We have other expenses. We have to set ourselves up differently. The budget is tight,” said spokesman Florian Mosig. The background is complex: Inflation is driving up spending. The economy needs help in the transformation. And: Measures to combat climate change are expensive. So the country has to keep the money together.
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Criticism of the country’s funding freeze
The CDU in the state parliament reacted with criticism. CDU economics expert Marcel Scharrelmann speaks of a “fatal signal for the expansion of the digital infrastructure”. The state government is saving in the wrong place. Lower Saxony’s Economics Minister Olaf Lies (SPD) must change course, Scharrelmann demands. He fears that rural areas will otherwise be left behind. So far, however, the minister has not moved. “The budgetary situation makes it impossible to continue,” Lies said in writing. The Lower Saxony Association of Towns and Municipalities (NSGB) also criticized the Northwest Newspaper (NWZ) reported. The association is therefore hoping for a correction in the upcoming deliberations for the next state budget.
Broadband expansion challenging in some regions
The president of the district council and Friesland’s district administrator Sven Ambrosy (SPD) appealed to the state to reconsider and reverse its decision due to the fundamental importance for the expansion of the infrastructure. In Lower Saxony, 70 percent of the population lives in rural areas, according to Ambrosy. In addition, there is also trade and tourism there, which, like the population, are dependent on broadband. In some areas, such as in fen areas with many canals or in the Harz with the mountains, broadband expansion is also challenging. Recently there were capacity, delivery and personnel problems of the telecommunications companies. Ambrosy shouldn’t think about closing the gaps without state funds, he said.
Reactions of the districts to the funding stop
For the districts of Uelzen and Heidekreis, for example, things could get tight financially without the funds of the state. So far, 50 percent of the funding has come from the federal government and 25 percent from the state. The counties took over the remaining 25 percent – their share would now double. It is said from both districts that the decision of the state government could jeopardize the plans. According to a spokesman, the current applications were based on further funding. Now it has to be recalculated. However, the district budgets are already very tight.
State government considers austerity measures to be manageable
The dispute is about a federal funding program. The federal government had assumed 50 percent of the fiber optic expansion costs, the state and local authorities 25 percent each. The money from the federal government is still there, the state share is now eliminated. Cities, municipalities and districts either have to take over the state share or they decide against it for cost reasons – but this would slow down the expansion. The red-green state government considers the austerity measure to be manageable. Now the fiber optic providers are required to establish the connections on their own. According to ministry spokesman Mosig, the country sees itself more as a door opener to bring municipalities and telecommunications companies together or to reduce bureaucracy for faster approvals.
So far, 500 million euros have been made available for internet expansion
In principle, the country no longer considers state support for fiber optic expansion to be necessary on such a large scale. In 2018, 6 percent of households would have had a gigabit Internet connection. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the share is now 81 percent and is expected to increase to around 90 percent over the course of the year. Lower Saxony has provided almost 500 million euros for the expansion in recent years.
Further information
Work in the Weststadt and Gartlage districts has begun. The whole of Osnabrück is to be connected by 2027. (05.04.2023) more
The federal government pays half of the costs for broadband expansion. 13,000 households are to receive fiber optic connections. (01/25/2023) more
The district is investing 82 million euros in broadband expansion. The expansion for high-speed Internet will take place by 2025. (01/20/2023) more
The district has spent 78 million euros for the expansion of fiber optics in the communities. Now the network is leased. (12/21/2022) more
The state has approved 14 funding decisions. In the future, almost 80 percent of all households will have fiber optic connections. (09.12.2021) more
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Hello Lower Saxony | 07/20/2023 | 19:30 o’clock