Annette Murphy, SVP of fibre solutions Europe at Zayo, looks at Germany's current network infrastructure and the increasing demand for Germany as a central location for the technology, media and telecom (TMT) sector
As Europe's largest and one of its strongest economies, Germany has a diverse and well-established network which makes it an ideal location for international telecoms and large enterprises to set up shop.
The country holds a number of significant advantages for business: The recent modernization of Germany's infrastructure means that the country now holds the most advanced technology equipment and infrastructure systems in the world. However, in order to stay ahead, it is vital to maintain a resilient, scalable network infrastructure to support the vast amount of data that Germany's tech companies produce on a daily basis.
Germany's geographical, technological and economic factors have created a central hub for international technology and telecoms companies in Europe.
Germany's unique geographical position
Due in part to the historic separation between East and West Germany, the geographical formation of the country, and by extension its infrastructure, are not typical of European nations. Bordered by nine countries, Germany sits right in the heart of Europe and is unique insofar as it has distinct hubs in different areas of the country, all focusing on different industries. The media hub in Dusseldorf, the banking sector in Frankfurt and the up and coming fintech hub of Berlin are all supported by high-power fibre networks and one of the strongest networks in Europe. This makes Germany a very attractive location for number of major communication technology companies including the likes of Huawei, Ericsson and Nokia amongst others.
Germany's successful economy
In 1998, the German government relaxed regulation on the telecoms industry, which was a vital first step in attracting global business to the country. The market was liberalised, which allowed private investors and foreign companies to enter it and modernise the infrastructure with the most technologically advanced equipment available. East Germany made great gains as a result of this liberalisation, with an influx of money pouring in from all over the world as a result.
Germany has ever since become one of the biggest and most powerful economies in Europe, greatly benefiting from this massive investment in infrastructure. The country now has one of the most dense fibre optic networks in the world that sits at the core of its economy. It is therefore no coincidence that 28 of the Global Fortune 500 companies choose to be headquartered in Germany.
Looking to the future
As companies increase their reliance on big data, IoT and other advanced technologies, Germany will see a continued uplift in data consumption. In fact, according to a recent report by law firm William Fry, most international organisations (based on key factors driving location decisions) already consider Germany as one of the top three destinations for EU data-driven investments. Demand for Germany's high-power fibre networks show no signs of slowing.
Germany's pro-business regulation, strong economy and high-speed fibre optic links to the European mainland mean it holds a competitive advantages. Germany will need to continue to expand and leverage its fibre and infrastructure to sustain its impressive progress.