Subsidised fibre optic expansion in Beckum

In 2019, Deutsche Glasfaser was awarded the contract for the ‘white spots’ funding scheme . After work on the roll-out had begun, the contractor Con-E went into administration in the second half of 2023. In mid-2024, AY-KOM took over the roll-out. Due to the substandard work carried out by the first contractor, the work completed to date had to be inspected and any damage rectified. Completion is scheduled for the end of 2026.

With a so-called ‘light grey areas’ upgrade, further addresses with speeds of less than 100 Mbit/s can be included in the scheme. These addresses are due to be connected by mid-2026.

The invitation to tender and publication of the award procedure was carried out in July 2024 by the broadband office of the district of Warendorf. The submission deadline ran until the end of September. Appropriate bidder meetings were held to follow up on the bids.

The relevant committee decisions (in all participating local authorities within the Warendorf district) must be taken by the end of the first quarter of 2025, so that, provided the decisions are favourable, the contract could be awarded in the first half of 2026.

In Beckum, the Martinschule, the Friedrich-von Bodelschwingh-Schule, the Sonnenschule, the municipal primary school in Mitte and the Astrid-Lindgren-Grundschule were connected via Deutsche Telekom's IT@School programme as part of the NRW fibre optic connection schools funding programme.

In addition, the Rosa-Parks comprehensive school and the Kopernikus grammar school in Neubeckum were supplied by Deutsche Glasfaser as part of the company's own fibre optic expansion.

The Sonnenschule site in Vellern is supplied with a Helinet fibre optic connection.

The other school locations in Beckum will also be connected to the high-speed network via Deutsche Glasfaser.

As part of the industrial estate development programme, the Obere Brede, Mark I, Kerkbrede and Daimlerring industrial estates and the Grüner Weg business park in Beckum will be supplied with 75 kilometres of fibre optic cable by Deutsche Telekom by September 2025. All companies in the development area were informed about the possibility of a free fibre optic connection in advance of the expansion.

The federal government is investing 50 per cent, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia 40 per cent and the town of Beckum 10 per cent of the total of almost 1.4 million euros.