Fast access to the Internet is also becoming more numerous in Hesse.

The fiber optic rollout is progressing, even if approval processes and laying methods could still be optimized.

The figures and announcements from the “Gigabit Summit” in Wiesbaden nevertheless give cause for hope.

Progress is being made in the countryside, and in the city anyway: the gigabit region Frankfurt/Rhine-Main is the largest fiber optic project in Europe, which will reach 1.6 million households and 640 commercial areas in the region.

This expansion is important, but it is not enough to make up for the deficits related to digitization.

And it's not just about politics.

Every citizen, but also every decision-maker in business and administration, must ask themselves whether the opportunities that arise are really being seized: why are so many people still reluctant to do their banking online?

What security concerns still need to be addressed?

Why are companies still not making greater use of the treasure trove of data they collect?

AI as part of life

Why aren't the projects to integrate this data into pools that allow meaningful evaluation not more ambitious?

Why do so few people still understand that the topic of artificial intelligence is no longer a theoretical question, but has long been part of life and thus of every business model that is sustainable - right down to the possibilities of combating climate change? 

Why is it so difficult to convert the administration to digital processes, why are so few citizens interested in the fact that the municipalities will not be able to implement the Online Access Act?

Why do we allow it to get away with conducting decision-making processes like yesterday, while cities and communities have long been “intelligently” networked (should have).

In fact, the whole country, whether private or professional, prefers to occupy itself with the distribution and defense of the status quo.

Amazon as a role model

Why are those who want change always more obliged to justify their plans than those who just want to stay put?

The result is that what flows through the high-speed data lines all too often creates value exclusively for American companies.

This is one of the reasons why Amazon controls more than half of all German online trade.

So it's good that the digital roads are being expanded.

But it would be better if more data cars from our own country were driving there as well.

At the time, Germany did not manage to maintain its lead in car and mechanical engineering simply by preserving its position.