Stuttgart/Berlin (dpa/lsw) - The CDU in the Baden-Württemberg state parliament criticizes changes in the federal government's gigabit funding for fast Internet. Group leader Manuel Hagel spoke on Tuesday of a "slap in the face for all of our communities - especially in rural areas". The federal government must keep promises to the municipalities. "Without fast internet you're pretty much in a fix." The CDU also wants to take up the topic in the state parliament this Wednesday.
The aim of the gigabit program is a nationwide high-speed network for all households, companies, schools and hospitals in Germany. Digital Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) stopped the program prematurely for the current year a week ago because the available funding had been exhausted. The result was protests from individual federal states.
On Tuesday, the Berlin ministry announced that it would resume funding in the billions in the coming year - but that the grants would be geared even more closely to the actual needs in the regions. State funding is only indicated where the expansion is stagnant and cannot be operated economically.
The CDU criticizes the lack of planning security. "All of our municipalities are rightly on the battlefield," said Hagel. "I would have expected something different from the self-proclaimed digital party FDP." So far, the federal government has provided the state with 1.88 billion euros. The state also funded the expansion projects with 1.77 billion euros. "If we don't want to become a digital developing country, all efforts must now be concentrated on the rapid expansion of gigabit networks."
