German Federal Government Broadband Subsidies from 2015 to 2017 – an Analysis of Aid Pledges

In October 2015 the German federal government launched a programme that primarily subsidises the expansion of next generation access networks in areas where the availability of fast internet connections for private customers is poor. Torsten J. Gerpott, University of Duisburg-Essen, outlines the main features of the funding measures and analyses the temporal and regional distribution of the 3.1 million euros in funds pledged by the German federal government for infrastructure projects up until the end of September 2017. The remaining funds will be completely allocated in a fifth round for which the application submission deadline was 29 September 2017. With the subsidy pledges granted by the end of September 2017, the five eastern German Länder will receive far greater financial support than their eleven western German counterparts. In view of the fact that the provision of next generation access networks is far poorer in eastern Germany than in the western part of the country, a great deal of evidence suggests that this regional distribution is fair on the whole.