• Österreichische Glasfaser-Infrastrukturgesellschaft is surely one of the finest names in the broadband industry
• For obvious reasons, the Austrian fibre broadband network operator is more often referred to as simply öGIG
• It is part of the Allianz Group 
• Now Allianz Capital Partners is stumping up €1 billion for fibre access network rollout

The fibre rush in Europe continues, with Austria the latest country to benefit from a fresh investment in next-generation fixed broadband network infrastructure: Allianz Capital Partners is investing €1 billion in the fibre rollout plans of Österreichische Glasfaser-Infrastrukturgesellschaft, aka öGIG, to help it reach 1 million premises.

The investment will provide a healthy chunk of the operator’s €2.5 billion plan to build an open network that can be used on equal terms by multiple ISPs: öGIG aims to pass 1 million premises across Austria, mainly in non-urban areas, with its wholesale fibre infrastructure by 2030. 

The wholesale broadband network builder is not starting from scratch and also isn’t going it alone. It has been active as a network builder since 2019, has been deploying fibre in the State of Lower Austria in partnership with the local government and has been cooperating with the broadband initiative of the State of Carinthia since May this year. 

"The Corona pandemic has once again confirmed the importance of fibre,” noted Michael Pfennig, Co-Head of Infrastructure at Allianz Capital Partners. “As one of the largest infrastructure investors worldwide, we are delighted to be able to make an important contribution to the digitization in Austria with the long-term pension and insurance capital of our customers and further investors." 

According to öGIG, Austria has been lagging behind its European peers in terms of broadband infrastructure investment. "In rural areas in particular, most households and businesses are severely undersupplied,” says CEO Hartwig Tauber. “From our point of view, it shouldn't make a difference whether someone lives in the city or in the country. We want to close this digital divide."

And the funding it has makes öGIG a very suitable partner for local rollout initiatives as it already has the capital needed to start building. “For the communities and regions in which we are expanding, this means that they do not have to make any financial contribution. Nor do municipalities have to grapple with tendering processes,” claims Tauber.

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV