Deutsche Telekom announced its first partnership with a municipal power utility company for installing optical fiber.
Deutsche Telekom and eins energie signed a cooperation agreement under which the power company will construct the infrastructure and Deutsche Telekom will operate the network. Up t0 20,000 residences in Chemnitz will get fiber connectivity this year. Up to 60,000 homes are scheduled to be connected to the state-of-the-art optical fiber network by the end of 2014. Deutsche Telekom plans to offer Internet access at up to 200 Mbps.
Once the optical fiber network has been completed, Deutsche Telekom will lease the network from eins and will operate it with open access for other service providers.
"This is the largest optical fiber project Deutsche Telekom has undertaken anywhere in Germany and this project here in Chemnitz is the first time we have entered into a cooperation with a regional utilities company," said Niek Jan van Damme, Chairman of the Managing Board of Telekom Deutschland GmbH. "eins is the local power company, the people of Chemnitz know the company, and it is an expert in the construction and operation of supply networks. We are open to work together with other enterprises and we look at all forms of cooperation, including with regional companies such as municipal and regional utilities companies or other partners," emphasized van Damme.
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