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The
government announced plans last October to spend 2.7 billion
euros as part of a push to give all households in Germany access
to internet speeds of at least 50 megabytes per second by 2018.
Transport and Digital Infrastructure Minister Alexander Dobrindt
said the extra funds would go to regions where network expansion
is not commercially justified.
"We are investing in the development of the gigabyte society.
For this we need super-fast internet everywhere in Germany for
everyone," Dobrindt said in a statement.
Better access is viewed as a crucial part of Germany's so-called
Digital Agenda, which aims among other goals to promote the
digitization of industry by connecting factory floors to the
internet.
Many of Germany's small-and-medium-sized companies - known as
the Mittelstand and which form the backbone of the economy - are
located in rural areas.
(Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
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