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Berlin (dpa) - No bars, no network.
Or few bars and poor reception.
This can still happen to mobile phone users, especially in rural areas.
The reason is the famous “white spots”.
These are now to be eliminated with the help of «MIG» - the federal government's new mobile communications infrastructure company.
The supervisory board of the state-owned truck toll operator Toll Collect approved the establishment of the company on Wednesday.
The start will take place in January, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Transport.
The new company is a subsidiary of Toll Collect - and is primarily intended to relieve and support municipalities.
"Particularly in rural regions, there is still a lack of high-performance mobile phone coverage, and even voice telephony is sometimes not possible due to numerous dead spots," said Gerd Landsberg, General Manager of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities.
This is a real location disadvantage for companies and a loss of quality of life for citizens.
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"The creation and development of girder masts in regions that are economically unattractive for companies can make an important contribution to better supply," said Landsberg.
He expects a “close alliance” between society and the municipalities.
"Then the new company can be a success and finally improve coverage with mobile communications throughout Germany."
CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt spoke of a new chapter in the digital expansion: "In the future, where the economic expansion does not work, the MIG will organize the construction of new cell phone masts."
THE INITIAL SITUATION: Progress has been made in cell phone coverage in recent years due to coverage requirements for operators.
Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica have committed to the federal government to supply 99 percent of households nationwide with 4G by the end of 2020.
By the end of 2021, 99 percent of households in each federal state must be supplied.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the expansion of the super-fast new 5G standard is currently focused on cities and commercial areas.
According to an overview by the Federal Network Agency from October, 96.5 percent of the area in Germany is supplied with 4G by at least one mobile network operator.
But that also means: Especially in sparsely populated areas there are still “white spots” with no or poor reception.
The expansion is uneconomical for the operators because they can hardly win new customers there.
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THE OBJECTIVES: According to the Ministry of Transport, there are around 4400 white spots nationwide.
To close these, up to 5000 locations for new cell towers are necessary.
The following should apply: Where 4G is possible, it should be switched to 5G later.
In order to drive the expansion forward, the federal government is launching a funding program with a volume of 1.1 billion euros.
The EU has yet to approve the program.
The new MIG should play a key role in implementation.
THE SOCIETY: The mobile communications infrastructure company based in Naumburg in Saxony-Anhalt is to officially start work in January.
Above all, society is supposed to relieve the municipalities, and the ministry is talking about an “all-round carefree package”.
Because the search for locations and approval procedures are time-consuming.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the following procedure is planned: The MIG should first find the white spots that are not supplied with mobile communications at all or only with 2G and for which there are no expansion obligations.
If operators do not want to expand themselves, the area is eligible for funding.
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In close consultation with the municipalities and the network operators, the MIG should search for and suggest suitable locations for cell phone towers - and at the same time prepare contracts and permits.
As soon as suitable locations have been identified, the MIG should clarify which network operators are willing to equip them with active technology on their own and ensure a supply.
Then the funding process should start - it is primarily aimed at companies that are responsible for erecting masts
THE REVIEW: Green budget politician Sven-Christian Kindler said with a view to Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU): “Instead of launching a new mega-agency and wasting years with it, the federal government should give companies clear guidelines for expanding their networks . "
It is not to be understood that the profitability gaps of the private network providers should be filled with tax money.
And the left-wing budget politician Victor Perli demanded that the new company install its own transmission systems and rent them to the operators so that income would also arise for the federal government.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201216-99-718897 / 2