The ground-breaking ceremony on 11.10.2018 in Lot 4 Oebisfelde-Weferlingen marked the start of broadband expansion in the Börde district. More than a year has now passed and other lots have also been given the go-ahead for expansion. In a total of 5 out of 8 lots, trenches were dug, pipes laid and fiber optic cables blown in in 2019. A large number of network nodes, known as PoPs, have already been installed and equipped. In the last quarter of the year, the first customers were “brought to light” by the operator and have been using their high-rate broadband connection ever since.

The ground-breaking ceremony and start of expansion in the other municipalities is now planned for 2020, so that they too will soon be involved in the construction process. The project is being financially supported by federal subsidies and the respective municipalities’ own investments, which will be refinanced through lease income from the future operator. In this model, every resident living in an underserved area has the opportunity to order a fiber optic connection for a small fee.

MRK is assigned to this project as project manager and thus supports the individual municipalities in an advisory and controlling capacity. From coordination and planning to construction coordination meetings and acceptance, from the start of the project to funding and final documentation, the MRK Media AG project management team controls and documents the project processes for its clients. The district of Börde has awarded a total of 8 lots for the expansion and will successively drive forward the expansion in the district over the project period. In total, around 1500 km of underground construction and over 25,000 house connections will be realized in the district. With the completion of the construction work, customers will experience a significant upgrade of their current Internet connection. A connection with at least 500 Mbit/s sends a strong signal for rural broadband supply and its future.