Glass fiber for Lower Austria: Future project ensures fast internet!

Glass fiber for Lower Austria: Future project ensures fast internet!

In a dramatic call to improve internet care in Austria, the Open Fiber Austria (OFAA) vehemently supported the plans for a comprehensive fiber optic infrastructure. President Dr. Igor Brusic criticized the apparently tempting solutions such as the satellite internet of Elon Musk by emphasizing that only a comprehensive fiber optic connection can enable people in Austria to have sustainable and reliable access to fast internet. According to the OFAA, these are fundamental requirements for economic and social progress in today's digital world, and they are calling for the targeted promotion of this technology. ”

Brusic pointed out the serious disadvantages of satellite solutions: "Starlink is not a solution to the broadband expansion of an entire country. The limited capacity of the satellite networks can only be an emergency solution for some users in remote regions," said Brusic. In comparison, fiber fiber enables symmetrical gigabit speeds, low latencies and almost unlimited scalability. These criteria are crucial, especially for industries, healthcare and smart cities. In order to secure Austria's digital competitiveness in the long term, the expansion of the fiber optic infrastructure is essential, also in order to be able to react to the rapidly increasing data consumption. The OFAA demands that funding are provided exclusively for fiber optic projects to avoid delays in expansion.

Sustainable solution for rural areas

In a parallel project, the Lower Austrian fiber optic access (FTTH) will produce the Lower Austria-Glow project in rural areas. A total of 300,000 households are to be supplied with fast internet with this initiative. This ambitious project was selected for the final round of the European Broadband Awards 2022 and aims to give the regional economy new upswing by enabling young families and start-ups in rural regions to settle down. The financing is carried out by a combination of private means and public subsidies that will cost around 1.5 billion euros.

With an innovative financing model, the authorities in Lower Austria want to ensure that the entire expansion takes place in accordance with the needs of the population and that there is no "cherry picking" by private providers. It is прогноbly that the private sector should not react appropriately, the NÖGig project could also cover the denser urban areas. These comprehensive measures are in line with the demand of the OFAA for a strategic and even construction of the fiber optic infrastructure in order to close the digital gap in Austria and finally bring insufficiently supplied rural areas to the grid.