Internet via fiber optics is significantly faster than DSL and cable. Connecting a rented or condominium to the grid is not that easy.
The fiber optic providers promise fast connections with currently up to one gigabit bandwidth. The problem: most people cannot decide for themselves whether to use fiber optics in their homes. Because the prerequisite for this is that such a connection is also laid. Tenants or residents of condominiums often have to work hard to get a fiber optic connection – and there is no one direct way.
Tenants can only wait for fiber optics
First of all, disillusionment: tenants can hardly find out whether the apartment has, can get or will get a fiber optic connection and which provider is responsible. “There is no generally reliable source,” says network expert Thorsten Neuhetzki from “Inside Digital”.
The most likely scenario is this: You find a note in the mailbox or posters in the neighborhood advertising fiber optic connections. For example, because the local municipal utilities, Telekom or another provider want to expand. Or direct marketers on behalf of the providers come to the front door. Now it’s time to act: “As a tenant, you can only mobilize what can be mobilized,” encourages Neuhetzki.
The easiest way is for renters of an entire house. You just have to get permission from the homeowners. Tenants in a single-ownership house with only a few residential units also have it easier. You can join forces and bring the request to the owners. Fiber optics cannot be laid without their consent. “A hole has to be drilled somewhere in the house for the glass fiber. As a tenant, you have no right to do so,” says Neuhetzki.
Also read: Cable, DSL or fiber optics – find the right Internet connection
The hurdles to connecting to fiber optics are high
It gets a bit more difficult with larger landlords. According to Neuhetzki, there are often framework agreements with providers for fast internet access. And that doesn’t always have to be glass fiber. Basically, according to Neuhetzki, it can’t hurt to ask the administration and draw attention to the topic. Because if there is still no framework agreement, there is at least a theoretical chance of fiber optics.
Probably the biggest challenge are homeowners associations (WEG). Regardless of whether you live in a condominium in a WEG or whether you rent it: Here, too, you cannot simply have yourself connected to the fiber optics. The WEG must decide together to bring the house to the fiber optic network. And anyone who has ever been to an owners’ meeting knows that quick decisions are rarely made here.
Neuhetzki’s advice: Don’t even wait for the marketing offer from a fiber optic provider, but clarify the issue directly. “Today already sensitize the landlords or management for the topic and decide on the topic at the next owners’ meeting,” he says. Otherwise, in the case of an expansion campaign by a company, deadlines can quickly be missed. A possible free connection to the network would no longer be possible.
Also interesting: Internet too slow? Users will be able to pay less in the future
How can you convince the landlord of fiber optics?
Why should landlords and owners actually agree to the connection to the fiber optic network? After all, this is also connected with construction work. And even if the companies often lay the connections at no cost to the homeowners, they can at least bear the costs for the connections of the individual apartments. So a few solid arguments don’t hurt.
1. Owners can apportion costs
Owners can pass some of the costs on to their tenants, says Sven Knapp from the Breko industry association, which represents many fiber optic providers. This is possible via the new Telecommunications Act, which came into force on December 1, 2021.
There is a so-called fiber optic provision fee. “This allows landlords and building owners to pass on part of the fees for laying fiber optics in the building to the tenants via the ancillary costs.” This sounds bad for tenants at first, but it is moderate: a maximum of 5 euros per month, i.e. 60 euros per year for a maximum of 9 Years may be allocated. The costs per apartment are 540 euros, spread over nine years – not bad at all.
2. Fiber optic is future-proof
“Once fiber optics have been laid, things will be quiet for many decades,” says Sven Knapp. There is still no long-term experience with fiber optic technology in apartment buildings. But the manufacturers currently promise 30 years and more durability without replacement.
3. The real estate value increases
If a house has access to fiber optics, the value increases by five to eight percent, as the Haus & Grund owners’ association determined a few years ago. Due to the increased demand for broadband connections, more streaming and more working from home, Sven Knapp now sees the increase in value even higher.
“Apartments without fiber optics may be more difficult to rent in the future,” says network expert Thorsten Neuhetzki. A fast network connection is becoming an important criterion for more and more tenants.
4. Post-installation significantly more expensive
If you have the option of having fiber optics installed in your home, you should do so when you first install it. Because in retrospect, fiber optic expansion is often associated with significantly higher costs, warns the Consumer Center.
How does the connection work?
Optical fiber is often already laid on the streets, but what is missing is the so-called “last mile”, or FTTH (Fiber to the Home). FTTH connects the fiber optic network on the street with the home, so – put simply – it ensures that the connection comes into your own four walls. Perhaps there is already an empty pipe for this, otherwise a hole has to be drilled. Then the house connection is installed. In many marketing campaigns, the providers do this part of the work at no additional cost. In other cases, the expansion is free of charge, even if fiber optic connections are booked at the same time – it depends on the individual case.
In existing buildings, the house owner usually has to pay for the supply of the individual apartments in the house. And that can get a little dusty. According to Breko, the fiber is almost always laid under plaster in Germany. However, some of the costs can be passed on via the fiber optic provision fee. Some newer buildings may already be equipped for fiber optics right into the apartments.
In order to be able to use the connection, tenants have to adapt. You need a corresponding fiber optic tariff and suitable hardware. In the telecom the tariffs – with the exception of special offers – currently cost between EUR 42.95 (50 Mbit/s) and EUR 79.95 (1 Gbit/s). The German fiberglass on the other hand, requires monthly costs of between EUR 44.99 (300 Mbit/s) and EUR 89.99 (1 Gbit/s). And other providers usually charge between 40 and 90 euros per month for their connections, depending on the speed selected. Fiber optic tariffs are therefore similar in price to offers that are realized via (V)DSL. By the way: Connections with up to 1 Gbit/s can also be implemented via cable. However, cable connections have the problem of the “shared medium”, in which the actually available speed depends very much on the number of households connected to the cable. More about this in the video:
Some Internet providers already offer the appropriate hardware in the form of a fiber optic modem with their contracts. But you can also choose them independently of the contract. AVM, for example, has various Fritz boxes for fiber optic connections in its range, as do the manufacturers Netgear and TP-Link.
Also read: Fritzbox 5590 Fiber – what can the “new glass fiber flagship” from AVM do?
Can you choose your fiber optic provider yourself?
We have previously mentioned the costs for a fiber optic connection with some providers, but users are not always able to choose this freely. It depends on how and when the fiber optics were installed in the apartment. If a provider expands the network, for example, he often reserves the right to sell it alone within the first few years. This allows him to refinance the costs incurred for the expansion. Users have little choice but to find out which fiber optic provider is responsible for their home.
With material from dpa