"The digital divide in the country will deepen".

The Federal Council has its blockade on and the green light for broadband expansion in Germany, the government jubilates. But it is not all gold that glitters, or DSL, which they say - some people are more equal than others: there are high for the city, paving consolation for the country.

 

Dusseldorf - Many German citizens in the countryside may breathe a sigh of relief - the wait for a fast Internet connection will soon end. This means any event, the federal government. And the Federal Council made on Friday cleared the way for its plans. With the use of free spectrum from the conversion to digital broadcasting, the so-called digital dividend, could now last until the angle of the Republic of the white spots in the broadband disappear. Fast surfing, downloading files, music and videos with maximum speed might soon be possible for everyone.

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Always on: What is life for city dwellers, is for many rural dwellers science fiction. Even the planned expansion brings them no more than what was called quickly Städter 1999

But experts warn: As a panacea for overcoming the digital divide in broadband, the digital dividend is not suitable. For years, the development of fast Internet connections in the area required. Especially in sparsely populated regions, including East Germany, are currently many homes and businesses from high-speed Internet truncated.

So far, telecom companies shrank for economic reasons, are reluctant to submit to such connections. Around five million people in up to more than 5000 communities, or about eight percent of all households, according to information from experts currently do not have broadband access. The digital dividend will help.

With the consent of the Bundesrat is the minimum requirement for the coverage of broadband connections in rural areas. The federal government wants to fast until the end of 2010, surfing the Internet in Germany allow - among other things, will therefore be freed up radio spectrum for broadband Internet use.

Radio remains a stopgap

Bernd Rudolph initiative against the digital divide holds full of promises but little. "The digital dividend is not a panacea and not even the big throw," he says, and feared: "Quite the contrary, the digital divide in the country will deepen." In fact, the desired bandwidth of 1 megabit per second compared to the rates in urban areas, where now up to 100 megabits be reached, just a drop in the ocean.

Also Harald Summa, Managing Director of the Association of German Internet Economy in Cologne, Germany warns against exaggerated hopes. "The radio spectrum is an opportunity to work in sparsely populated areas cost-effective connections. It was an opportunity to establish this technology, once in the past all the other had failed miserably. But as the wisdom of the last final, Summa believes the digital dividend is not. To varying degrees of care, with a view would also have regions with long-term fiber supply.

Mobile business sense

Meanwhile, wait for the mobile operator to a starting character. Vodafone, T-Mobile & Co have been the release of radio frequencies required. Vodafone CEO Friedrich Joussen said repeatedly in the digital dividend to try to gain access: If the company to acquire spectrum, "ES 2010 is no more white spots," he promises. The competition keeps still overcast, but the business is not alone Vodafone purposes.

Can start the business anyway but probably only in 2010. Because the frequencies should be auctioned, is expected early next year. Preparing to take several months to complete, it says at the Federal Network Agency. Under the hammer are placed beside the radio frequencies from the digital dividend equal to other mobile frequencies.

Although the auction one of the greatest auctions of the Federal Network Agency will be revenues in the magnitude of the UMTS auction in 2000, nobody expected. At that time, the spectacular auction, aufgepeitscht by the euphoria and an unprecedented gold rush in the industry, around 50 billion euros into state coffers flushed.