High bandwidths are a decisive location factor for German companies: 82 percent see a lack of access to high-performance Internet as a valid reason for relocating a company location to a developed area.
This is the result of a recent study conducted by the market and opinion research institute YouGov among more than 500 decision-makers on behalf of 1&1 Versatel. The digitization needs of companies in Germany were examined.
Companies: 83 percent consider fast internet to be essential for survival
Mobile work, process optimization, cost savings - today more than ever, companies depend on a reliable connection to the network. 83 percent of the study participants consider high-performance internet to be essential for survival. 84 percent of those surveyed believe that slow Internet costs companies dearly. And 85 percent believe that Germany will fall behind economically in an international comparison if fiber optic expansion is slow.
Reliability is the biggest plus of a fiber optic connection
46 percent of those surveyed rated high bandwidths as important, especially for more flexible, faster and more transparent work. At least a quarter of the companies also consider fast internet to be relevant for cost optimization – above all for reducing expenses in office and administrative processes.
The importance of high-performance Internet is therefore undisputed - and the solution for the digital future is fiber optics. According to the study, reliability is the biggest advantage of a gigabit connection from the point of view of companies: 86 percent of those surveyed rate it as "very important" or "important". The speed of data transmission via fiber optics as well as its security and stability land directly in second place, with 84 percent rating them at least as “important”. If failures or disruptions do occur, 81 percent see advantageous service level agreements as a very important or important benefit.
57 percent of those will need fiber optics within five years
Despite all the advantages that fiber optics bring to companies, there is still a lot to do in terms of broadband expansion. Only 32 percent of the companies surveyed currently have a fiber optic connection. Demand will remain correspondingly high in the future: 57 percent of companies without a fiber optic connection assume that they will need one in the medium term - a good third (32 percent) in the next one to two years, 25 percent in the next three to five years.
for dr Sören Trebst, CEO of 1&1 Versatel, a nationwide fiber optic network and thus the further economic success of the Federal Republic can only be achieved through the interaction of politics and telecommunications providers: "Today, fiber optics is as essential for companies as a power or water connection. 1&1 Versatel has therefore been expanding commercial areas nationwide since 2015. In order to fully exploit the opportunities of digitization, however, a close alliance of all actors is required - cooperation, open access platforms and other forms of cooperation must be strengthened and promoted. Only if everyone pulls together will Germany continue to play in the upper economic league in the future.”
Lack of availability and high installation costs are the most common reasons for a missing fiber optic connection
The results of the study underline how important it is to join forces to improve the conditions for access to fiber optics. According to this, companies that do not yet have a fiber optic connection cite the lack of availability in connection with high installation costs as the most common reason (34 percent).
The study was carried out as an online survey by YouGov Germany on behalf of 1&1 Versatel. 505 company decision-makers took part between January 11 and 17, 2022.
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About 1 & 1 Versatel
As a telecommunications specialist for corporate customers, 1&1 Versatel is one of the leading providers of data, Internet and voice services in Germany. The company is a 100 percent subsidiary of the listed United Internet AG. 1&1 Versatel operates one of the largest and most powerful fiber optic networks in Germany - it is available in over 250 cities.