The topic of digitalization is increasingly coming into focus in our society, not only politically and economically, but especially in the educational and private sectors. The Digitalization paves the way into the future for that. But it's especially possible in Germany Broadband expansion only with modern technologies such as the fiber optic network very slow progress and sufficiently fast internet is still not available in all regions. Access to fast and powerful Internet is one of the most important foundations for successful digitalization. This raises the question: What is the current status of broadband expansion in Germany? In order to clarify this question, we will take a closer look below at how good the availability of DSL, 5G and fiber optics really is in Germany.
What does broadband coverage mean?
The term “Broadband coverage” refers to the Availability of broadband services (e.g. DSL, 5G, fiber) in certain geographic regions. The value of broadband coverage indicates to what extent Area is supplied with broadband infrastructure and how many of the residents are potentially affected by this Access to broadband services.
Broadband coverage is often in percent or expressed as a share of area and is a measure of how many households or businesses in a region can use broadband services. High broadband coverage is crucial for the digital networking of a region and access to fast internet or video streaming.
But not all broadband coverage is created equal because of the value differs from internet technology to internet technology. DSL, 5G or fiber optic have a different level of coverage in Germany. We'll take a closer look at how big each is.
Broadband coverage in Germany – an overview
This probably offers the best broadband coverage in Germany DSL-Internet. With a Coverage rate of around 98% This type of internet connection can be used almost anywhere in Germany. This is no surprise considering that DSL was the standard for “fast” Internet for many years. But even though DSL is available almost everywhere, this type of Internet connection only an internet speed of up to 25 Mbit/s is achieved. This is often not enough for today's demanding Internet usage. For this reason, newer Internet technologies are becoming increasingly widespread and broadband expansion is continuing to progress.
Broadband coverage: VDSL
In the VDSL it is a improved version of the DSL connection, with internet speeds of up to 250 Mbit / s can be achieved. To do this, the internet signal is maintained until Distribution box via fiber optic cable transmitted. However, this is already the case for the last mile to the customer existing copper network of the older DSL connection. Because no new infrastructure has to be laid on the way from the distribution box to the customers, the broadband coverage with VDSL, as well as DSL, is quite high - currently it is in Germany around 85%.
Broadband coverage: fiber optic
This is a newer internet technology on the rise Fiber optic internet. This high-performance internet connection is guaranteed using high bandwidth internet speeds of up to 1Gbit/s. Thanks to this high performance, fiber optic internet is considered to be that Internet of the future. However, the fiber optic expansion in Germany is still in progress.
Fiber optic internet coverage is currently in Germany only at 20 to 25%, which means that only around a fifth to a quarter of German households have access to high-speed internet. That the expansion with fiber optics only progress is very slow, is mainly due to greater structural engineering effort. For a high-performance FTTH or FTTB connection, you not only need new fiber optic cables to the distribution boxes, but also directly to the end customers be moved.
This is also one of the reasons why broadband coverage with fiber optics is in Big cities and towns are a lot better than in rural regions. In cities, covers are partly 90% or higher reached, while in rural areas there are currently values of below 10% possible are. But the chances are good that broadband coverage with fiber optics will be available in the will rise quickly in the next few years – and in the country too. Broadband expansion with fiber optic cables is constantly being pushed forward and also with supported by government funding. The federal government's self-proclaimed goal is that by year 2030 Comprehensive availability with fiber optic internet is reached.
More detailed information on the availability of fiber optic internet and the different connection types in Germany is provided Broadband Atlas the Federal Network Agency.
Broadband coverage: 5G (mobile)
Last but not least, let's take a look 5G, currently the fastest Cellular standard in Germany. With 5G, users can surf mobile internet at speeds of up to 1 to 2 Gbit/s.
The broadband coverage for 5G in Germany is currently about 85 to 90%. This means that end users cover over three quarters of Germany's area 5G Internet from at least one provider can obtain. But the broadband expansion in the German mobile network is not yet complete and the goal, just like for the fiber optic network, is to Complete coverage of the federal territory by 2030 to achieve.
Conclusion: And what happens next with fast internet?
As our overview has shown, Germany still Older Internet technologies such as DSL and VDSL hold the top positions in broadband coverage. However, sooner or later these will meet the demands of modern internet usage no longer fair and faster internet technologies like fiber optic will be the new standard. But while in the area Mobile communications already have very good coverage rates With fast internet, Germany lags behind, especially in this area the stationary internet is far behind. With a fiber optic coverage of around 20 to 25%, Germany is only one in Europe Place in midfield. For comparison: In Spain, well over 80% of households already have access to fiber optic internet. It remains to be seen whether Germany will also achieve such high coverage rates in the next few years.
