Telekom is continuing its expansion in the fixed network and in June gave 386,000 more households access to a tariff with at least 100 Mbit/s. 122,000 were added to the pure fiber optic connections (FTTH), so that the target of 2 million new FTTH connections that it had set itself should be achieved by the end of the year.
The network operator now has a total of 34 .4 million households in Germany who can book a tariff with up to 100 Mbit/s or more. According to Telekom, the number of households that can book up to 250 Mbit/s or more is 27.7 million. Since the beginning of the year, the network has been expanded for a total of over 3 million households.
122,000 FTTH connections in June
Telekom put the expansion of the newly added fiber optic connections at 122,000 in June, so that the network operator now has a total of 3.9 million FTTH connections. Telekom added a total of 600,000 fiber optic connections in 2020 and 1.2 million last year; the target for this year is 2 million new connections. The whole of Germany should be able to book FTTH by 2030.
Telekom has to step up the pace
From January to April of this year, 270,000 FTTH connections were added, there are no statistics for May and in June there were 122,000 new connections. On average over the five months with the figures available, 78,400 FTTH connections were added each month. The last expansion stage in June shows that Telekom has increased its pace and must increase it further. Of the 2 million new FTTH connections by the end of 2022, around 500,000 are likely to be reached.
Telekom is right on schedule, and there could be 2 million this year, explained Walter Goldenits, Managing Director of Technology at Telekom Deutschland, on the half-year balance sheet for fiber optic expansion. “We want to build two million fiber optic connections this year and that's looking very, very good,” said Goldenits.
Many processes digitized
In a conversation on YouTube, Goldenits addresses the digitalization in the group, which has accelerated the expansion in areas such as planning, inspection and approval processes. The planning has now been completely digitized, with appropriately equipped vehicles driving down streets in order to find the most efficient route through the streets for new fiber optics. In the municipalities, many approval processes are now carried out digitally, but there are still many “paper municipalities”, face-to-face meetings and joint inspections.
Cities cautious about faster expansion methods
Faster expansion methods such as trenching and reduced laying depths continue to be the focus of Telekom in order to avoid classic civil engineering, which is expensive and takes more time. Telekom is successful with this in rural areas, where there is a great deal of insight into getting through the streets quickly. In the cities, there are more obstacles, people there are cautious about alternative methods, so Goldenits still sees potential for optimization here. A normal construction crew can cover 150 meters a day, while trenching or minimally invasive digging can cover 400 to 600 meters. The price per meter falls from 85 to 65 euros, above ground 10 euros per meter are possible.
When it comes to competition, Goldenits emphasizes that Deutsche Telekom is here to stay. “Our strength is that we are not only there when the sun is shining, but also when things get difficult. I think that makes the big difference. On the one hand, Telekom as a reliable partner who is there to stay. On the other hand, there are sometimes competitors for whom this is not always so clear. How long do you stay? Are you going? How do you do it?”