Telecom and co. In a mess: do we even need fiber optics?

Whether Telekom, Vodafone or German fiber optics – network providers in Germany are constantly expanding the fiber optic network. There have long been more and more “real” fiber optic connections that are capable of high performance. But hardly anyone wants that.

Glass fiber has been on everyone’s lips for years as the fast transmission standard for landline Internet connections. The expansion in this country is progressing, albeit more slowly than in many other countries. But the fact that Germany is lagging behind is probably not a problem for many in view of the current figures.

Majority of consumers don’t want fiber

This is shown by a study by the Association of Telecommunications and Value Added Services (VATM). So become something more than a third of the “real” fiber optic connections available to date are used (Source: VATM). The VATM understands real fiber optics to mean FTTH and FTTB connections, which are laid in the apartment or house, as well as cable connections retrofitted to Docsis 3.1.

Means: From all potential customers for whom fiber optics have already been laid on the last mile and who could therefore particularly benefit from the high data speeds, the vast majority do not want to use fiber optics at all. “Overall, the rate remains expandable,” says the industry association.

An assessment that also corresponds to the experience of our editorial team: The expansion areas are increasing, the chances of a fiber optic connection are increasing. According to the VATM, the number of connections used is also increasing, but they remain in the minority alongside the ones that are actually available. With 2.1 million newly laid fiber optic connections 2021 is also the strongest year to date for expansion – overall there is an increase of 40 percent.

Little interest in fiber optics: are the prices to blame?

There can be many reasons for the reluctance: For example, consumer advocates recently warned indirectly against the aggressive marketing from Telekom and Co., who send their salespeople directly to potential customers at home.

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The prices also play a decisive role: In some expansion areas, for example, Telekom offers to cover the connection costs up to the house. Nevertheless monthly prices are high – especially if your own needs are already covered with 50 Mbit / s in the download, for example.

In the long term, it is likely that the Data demand in German households continues to increase and fast connections will become more and more important in the coming years. So far, however, many households are still coping well with what is already possible.