Broadband expansion stalls as Austria cuts funding

Broadband expansion across Austria has slowed after the federal government cut planned funding, ORF reports. The reduction has put the country’s goal of nationwide gigabit-capable internet by 2030 at risk, although fibre expansion is progressing comparatively well in Lower Austria.

The government reduced funding for 2027 to 2029 from 275 million euros to 120 million euros. The two billion euro broadband programmes of recent years had provided a strong boost, but that momentum has now been sharply curtailed.

Reinhard Baumgartner, managing director of nöGIG, Lower Austria’s state infrastructure company, described the situation as a “de facto stop to funding”. Under the current conditions, nationwide coverage by 2030 is no longer achievable, he said.

About 200 municipalities in Lower Austria already have fibre internet or are currently being connected. Around 20,000 households will receive new fibre connections this year alone. About 90 percent of households already have access to internet speeds of around 100 megabits per second, while two thirds have a gigabit-capable connection. However, only half are actually connected to the highest category of fibre service.

Baumgartner said interest in rural areas reached up to 80 percent, compared with an average of 20 percent in urban areas. In some cities, fibre lines have already been installed, but residents often consider existing services sufficient, reducing demand.

Private providers are expanding networks in cities, while nöGIG supports municipalities in rural Lower Austria with public funding or carries out the work itself. Baumgartner said the federal government had 600 million euros in unused funding returns available from projects that had not used their full allocations, but was currently withholding the money. Releasing it for broadband expansion could still make the 2030 target possible, he said.

Franz Pichler, founder and owner of mobile communications company Spusu, also called for changes to the funding system. His company has laid 300 kilometres of fibre in 25 municipalities in the Weinviertel region using five construction teams. He said interest remained strong but considered nationwide coverage unrealistic under current conditions.

Pichler said funding should go directly to households rather than only to companies building the networks. He compared the proposal with support for household photovoltaic installations, which he said had triggered a sustained boom.