Fibre optics: How is digitalisation progressing?
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Do you have a fibre optic connection? Great, then you are one of the lucky 30 per cent of Germans who have access to fast Internet, but not all of them are actually connected. What is the overall state of digitalisation in Germany?
In August 2022, the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and the Federal Government adopted their own digital strategy for the first time and committed to implementing key measures to make Germany more digital. A lot has happened since then: Gigabit connections are available to 74% of households, fibre optic connections to almost one in three households. Fibre optic availability has increased by 50 percent within a year.
Digitalisation supports education and training, strengthens efficient administrative processes, helps to reduce bureaucracy and changes the world of work. An expansion of digitalisation in Germany would make life easier for many people - whether applying for a new ID card, changing their place of residence, registering and deregistering a car, applying for a building permit ...
Germany has one of the highest 5G coverage rates in Europe. Millions of citizens already use electronic prescriptions and benefit from a digital Germany ticket across tariff borders. The electronic patient file will be launched as an opt-out application from 15 January 2025, although Germany is not among the fastest in a global comparison. South Korea has the highest proportion of fibre optics of all OECD countries at 89 percent. It is followed by Japan, Iceland, Spain and Sweden. With a fibre optic share of around ten percent, Germany is in 36th place in the country ranking.
As part of its gigabit strategy, the German government has set itself the goal of providing Germany with nationwide fibre optic coverage by 2030. According to the results of the 6th Gigabit 2024 Study, there will be 45.9 million households with fibre optic coverage in Germany by mid-2024. That is over two million more than at the end of 2023.
(Photo: © Alexander Fox, Pixabay)