Germany to roll out €100bn gigabit internet network

Germany's federal government plans to roll out a gigabit internet service across Germany by 2025, through a government and private consortium known as Netzallianz Digitales Deutschland.

The €100bn project will focus on bandwidth, security and response times, minister for transport and digital infrastructure Alexander Dobrindt said.

Developments including virtual reality and the internet of things will bring enormous data growth, and the need for more bandwidth, reliable real-time transmission and intelligent networks, Dobrindt said.

The network will use "the most advanced technologies, such as fibre and the future 5G mobile communications standard", he said.

The Ministry for Transport and Digital services already invests around €4bn a year to bring broadband to under-served regions. From 2018 onwards, the department will invest a further €3bn a year, Dobrindt said.

Netzallianz Digitales Deutschland was founded in March 2014 and brings together most of Germany's major telecommunications firms. 75.5 per cent of households now have fast internet speeds of at least 50 Megabits per second, an increase of 26 per cent since the alliance was established, he said.

Germany's education department announced in October 2016 that it plans to invest €5bn over the next five years to provide faster internet connections, Wi-Fi and tablet computers to schools and colleges.

The government will make the money available to the country's federal states, which are responsible for education, said education minister Johanna Wanka.

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