Broadband expansion in the Rheingau: fast internet is slower

The expansion of a nationwide fast internet data connection in the Rheingau-Taunus district has come to a standstill and will be delayed.

This was announced by District Administrator Frank Kilian (independent) together with the project manager responsible for broadband expansion, Achim Staab.

Actually, Deutsche Telekom, as the contractual partner of the district, should have completed the work on the broadband expansion by the end of 2021.

According to Kilian, after a crisis talk, July 31 of this year is now the date by which the project should be completed.

The district administrator predicts that it will be at least eight years before all residents of the Rheingau-Taunus district can enjoy very fast internet.

Kilian cited the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley as one of the reasons for the delay.

Telekom has deployed many of its workers there so that people can get telephone and internet again.

"In some places we have slow internet, in the Ahr Valley there is no internet at all," Staab showed understanding for Telekom's decision.

According to him, Telekom also had to deal with delivery problems and staff shortages due to the pandemic.

Apparently there have also been communication difficulties, which is why there should now be a weekly meeting with those responsible.

Fiber optic cable to the customer as a future solution

To ensure that people have a fast Internet connection in the future, Telekom is investing around 25 million euros and is receiving around eight million euros in subsidies.

The so-called district expansion project consists of several components.

For example, it is about closing gaps and densification in the field of FttC (Fibre to the Curb).

That means: The fiber optic cable is laid up to the junction box, and from there it continues with the existing copper cable to the house.

Despite better software support (vectoring/supervectoring), this is not a viable permanent solution.

This is called FttB (Fibre to the Building) and means that the fiber optic cable runs right into the customer's house.

To date, 34 out of 59 schools in the district have an FttB connection, and it is planned that all private households will also have this option.

As soon as Telekom has completed its work in the summer, 16 towns and communities in the district can negotiate with four companies on how and whether the nationwide fiber optic connections can be laid right into private homes.

This has already happened in Hünstetten, the 17th municipality in the district.

There the German fiber optics was awarded the contract and is expanding the network.

According to Staab, Telekom, Syna and Deutsche Giganetz are also active in the market.

Some of the companies are already negotiating with the cities and municipalities.

These negotiations also include asking whether private households are willing to have a fiber optic connection installed.

According to Staab, the approval rate must be around 30 to 40 percent for the respective company to start expanding.

"There is no way around the nationwide fiber optic expansion"

"There is no way around the nationwide fiber optic expansion," said the project manager with conviction.

However, it does not seem to be entirely clear what will happen in a municipality if too few citizens decide to connect.

Kilian assumes that the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis benefits from its membership in the gigabit region Frankfurt/Rhein-Main, which also includes Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Offenbach, Darmstadt and the Hochtaunuskreis as well as the Main-Taunus-Kreis.

The Rheingau-Taunus district has been a shareholder in Gigabit Frankfurt/Rhein-Main GmbH since last year.

The industrial and commercial areas are to be connected to the fiber optic network by 2025.

Until that succeeds, however, Telekom will have to do its homework in the coming months.

While some expansion areas within the district already have their new data highways, it is still pending in the Heidenroder districts of Niedermeilingen and Grebenroth, where a replacement route has to be built.

According to Kilian, a six-kilometer line still has to be laid to Eberbach Abbey in the Rheingau.

The district administrator was convinced that by 2025, all municipal schools would have a fast fiber optic connection.