Germany unveils plans for ‘Gigabit Society’

Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (Bundesministerium fur Verkehr und Digitale Infrastruktur, BMVI) has unveiled plans to transform the country into a ‘Gigabit Society’ by the end of 2025. The plan, which was announced by Federal Minister Alexander Dobrindt, outlines the development of a comprehensive, coordinated four-stage strategy for the accelerated and targeted expansion of digital infrastructure across the country. The first phase runs until the end of 2018 and will aim to achieve universal access to broadband internet speeds of at least 50Mbps for all households, while the second stage (until the end of 2019) will see underserved industrial areas equipped with fibre-optic technology. Under the third phase, the regulator must ensure that the conditions for the deployment of 5G mobile technologies, including the relevant frequencies, are in place by the end of 2020 and in the final phase, the government is aiming to have in place a Gigabit-capable converged infrastructure.