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Broadband good practice interview: Broadband Awards success brings high-speed connectivity to rural Brandenburg

In this interview, Heinz-Peter Labonte of Media Group Lausitz describes how becoming a finalist in the 2017 European Broadband Awards raised demand for better connectivity in rural Brandenburg, Germany, and led the Lauchhammer Glass-Fibre-City project to expand.

Still image from video (Broadband good practice interview: Broadband Awards success brings high-speed connectivity to rural Brandenburg villages) depicting Heinz-Peter Labonte, Media Group Lausitz. To his left is an arial view of a trench where fibre optic cable will be laid. Above is a banner with the title: Broadband Good Practice Video.

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Heinz-Peter Labonte, Media Group Lausitz

The Glass-Fibre-City project brought speeds of 50 Mbps to 7 000 houses in Lauchhammer via a private network with a capacity for 10 Gbps. The project's presence as a finalist in the European Broadband Awards garnered attention from the villages surrounding Lauchhammer, which also had very poor internet, telephony and television coverage. The villages began to ask themselves why they could not do the same. 

Roll-out of the Glass-Fibre-City Project

Due to this increased demand for better services and connectivity, a pilot project was launched to connect 600 homes in the neighbouring village of Grünewald with 1 Gbps Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH). In order to reduce costs, the project coordinated closely with the municipality and electricity company, who both needed to undertake work in the area.

Grünewald became the first village in rural Brandenburg with a complete FTTH infrastructure, while the project continues to grow in the area. Investments of EUR 10.35 million are planned, with an additional 6 500 homes to be covered in the next three to five years, and a further 1 500 currently under development.

Read more about the Glass-Fibre-City project in the European Commission’s database of good practices in broadband projects.

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