Contractor insolvency stalls Koblach fibre rollout

Fibre-optic construction in Koblach has been delayed after a subcontractor went bankrupt, and the completion date remains unclear, ORF Vorarlberg reports. The municipality has received numerous complaints about unfinished works.

The project aims to build an open fibre network across Koblach, allowing customers to choose from more than 20 internet providers. The first phase is planned to cover 33 kilometres and connect more than 2,100 homes in the municipality of about 5,000 people. The network will support speeds of up to 1,000 megabits per second.

Private company ÖGIG won the construction contract and began work in late November 2024. The first phase was meant to be completed by this summer, but work stopped in January 2026 after subcontractor OK Infra encountered financial difficulties. The company filed for insolvency in September, an ÖGIG spokesperson told ORF Vorarlberg. ÖGIG puts the investment in the first phase at four million euros.

Many trenches remain open and some roads have yet to be resurfaced, Koblach Mayor Gerd Hölzl told ORF Vorarlberg. The municipality has received numerous complaints, and some customers have already withdrawn. The municipality is also affected because work on its own land has stopped, Hölzl said.

ÖGIG says preparations are under way to appoint new contractors and that it wants to resume work as soon as possible. Activation of home connections is planned for early November. The final civil engineering work is out to tender, and construction will continue once the contract has been awarded.

Vorarlberg’s broadband coordinator, Stefan Stutz, said the state supports open fibre networks, which let multiple providers use the same cable rather than lay their own. ÖGIG is also responsible for fibre construction in Mittelberg in the Kleinwalsertal.