Deutsche Telekom bets on copper. 75% of families perfectly satisfied with this. But it is something that could cost Germany dearly.
It may seem like a surprise, but the Germany It is not exactly the most advanced, most up-to-date country in terms of technology.
At the beginning of this year, an example: 77% of German companies still use fax. And 25% of them use it frequently or even very often.
This is because Germany is one of the European countries later at the level of digital public services. Therefore, it is essential to communicate with public authorities.
Still within the scope of communications, the Deutsche Telekom continues to invest heavily in modernization from the old network of copper to guarantee access to internet in Germany.
But this strategy has been increasingly criticized: in addition to being a technology that already comes from World War IIwill be lock the expansion of optical fiber.
But Deutsche Telekom considers that the infrastructure inherited from the post-war period is still respond to the needs of the majority of the German population; and thus avoids a massive investment in networks based entirely on fiber optics.
The focuses on a technical laboratory in Darmstadt, where the company presents its vision for Germany’s digital future.
And that laboratory is full of old copper cables and adapted equipment over decades. And it is against this backdrop that Telekom officials argue that the existing network continues to provide “good services” and that should not be switched off “unnecessarily””.
But it’s not just Deutsche Telekom that thinks everything is fine: 75% of German families say that the internet speed they have at home is perfect – and yes, the service they have are modernized versions of the copper infrastructure, namely with DSL and vectoring technologies.
Despite the families’ satisfaction and the company’s justifications, there is critics who accuse Telekom of perpetuating Germany’s digital lag.
They warn that the country is repeating a historical pattern of postpone structural investments, preferring to extend the useful life of old systems instead of investing decisively in more advanced solutions.
And, they warn, all this can be expensive for Germany: loss of economic and technological competitiveness in relation to other European countries that have moved more quickly towards fiber networks to the consumer’s home.
The digital transformation of the German economy is seen as essential to sustaining industry, artificial intelligence and digital public services.
Optical fiber is widely recognized as the fastest and most future-proof technology – but its implementation involves extensive and investments of billions of euros, which is what Deutsche Telekom continues to avoid.
Critics, for their part, warn that prolonged dependence on copper could make the transition more expensive and difficult in the coming years, worsening the country’s technological gap.
