Berlin Minister for the Economy, Franziska Giffey, has announced that the capital is set to receive a major infrastructural update to its fibre optic network which will allow more people to take advantage of high-speed internet connections.

Giffey announces fibre optic expansion for Berlin

Former Mayor and now Minister of the Economy for Berlin, SPD politician Franziska Giffey, has announced that Germany’s capital will drastically expand its fibre optic infrastructure by 2028.

Last year, only 200.000 households in Berlin had access to a fibre optic internet connection. According to Giffey’s initial plan, this figure will increase to 400.000 in 2023 and to 600.000 the following year. Currently, only 18 percent of households in Berlin are connected to the fibre optic network.

For people lucky enough to live in a neighbourhood where fibre optic cables have already been installed, connecting to the network is free of charge as long as the telecommunications company is already on-site installing the lines. After this, anyone who would like a connection has to pay 800 euros.

For those living outside areas that telecommunication companies deem to be worthy of a connection, Giffey says she is considering how government subsidies can ensure a nationwide connection.

Fibre optic is necessary for Germany’s digitalisation dreams

Much of German administration and bureaucracy remains heavily dependent on paper correspondence. For Giffey, expanding fibre optic connections in the German city is a necessary step to making sure that more administrative processes can move into the digital space. 

“By 2030 the volume of data will be thirty times as large. Because of that we have to make sure that the network is efficient,” the minister noted. Giffey has big dreams for Berlin’s status when it comes to innovation supported by digital networks, “We want to be the number one location for innovation in Europe,” the politician said in her announcement this week.

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