Vodafone Germany said it plans to invest €2 billion in its fixed infrastructure as it moves to deliver gigabit fiber broadband to 13.7 million customers. The company said it aims to finish the investment by 2021 and will focus on three segments in cooperation with partner companies in Germany.
The network expansion and upgrade plays into Vodafone Germany's aim to become a "leading converged communications operator" in the country. The operator said its enterprise-focused unit will bring fiber connectivity to 100,000 companies across 2,000 business parks at a cost of around €1.4 billion to €1.6 billion.
Vodafone Germany's consumer operation, it said, will fork out €200 million to €400 million to expand its fiber network to reach 1 million homes in rural areas. The overall scheme will include €200 million invested into upgrading existing cable infrastructure to deliver gigabit speeds to Vodafone Germany's cable base of 12.6 million.
Vodafone Germany CEO Hannes Ametsrejter said he was "excited to announce this transformation investment plan for Germany, which will bring gigabit broadband services to millions of consumers and business."
Ametsrejter added, "The project is consistent with our strategic goal to become a leading converged communications operator in Germany, enabled by a best-in-class gigabit network infrastructure."
The company's fixed unit contributed 40 percent of service revenue in Germany in the opening quarter of its financial year, contributing €1 billion in quarterly earnings, according to Vodafone's Q1 fiscal financial statement covering the three months to end June.
The investment is Vodafone's largest since its £19 billion 'Project Spring' investment, a two-year strategy to improve its mobile infrastructure. The operator's presence in Germany's broadband market grew when in 2013 it acquired the country's largest cable operator Kabel Deutschland for €7.7 billion.