Hamburg Commercial Bank finances fiber optic network expansion for goetel GmbH – First promotion by KfW program “Digital Infrastructure”
Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) provides the telecommunications provider goetel with a project financing of EUR 50 million for the expansion of the fiber optic network in several districts in Hesse and Lower Saxony.
Copyright goetel GmbH
The project supports the fiber optic network expansion in Germany and is promoted under the KfW program “Digital Infrastructure”. This funding, initiated by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, offers a lowinterest, long-term investment loan for the expansion of fiber optic networks under special conditions. Hamburg Commercial Bank is thus one of the first banks in Germany to take advantage of the “Digital Infrastructure” program (No. 239) newly launched by the KfW (German promotional bank) for its customers.
goetel GmbH concentrates on the expansion of fiber optic networks, especially in under-served rural areas. Within the framework of the ongoing projects in the districts of Northeim, Göttingen, Kassel and Vogelsberg, more than 13,000 households have already been connected to the highperformance network and next year alone, around 10,000 connections will be added. “Rural areas are still lagging behind in the supply of fiber optics and higher Internet speed. We already have a strong market position there as a regional telecommunications provider, and we are now working together with Hamburg Commercial Bank to further expand this position,” said Jürgen Neumann, Managing Director of goetel GmbH. David Wiedemann, Investment Manager at the main shareholder Adiuva Capital GmbH, added: “During our talks, Hamburg Commercial Bank showed a deep knowledge of the market in the field of digital infrastructure and a high understanding for the needs of medium-sized telecommunications providers. We are convinced that we have found a reliable and long-term financing partner for goetel and look forward to a good cooperation”.
“Despite or because of the COVID-19-crisis, goetel has stuck to its plans and has continued to expand its fiber optic networks incessantly – a remarkable achievement. This KfW promotional loan now provides long-term financing for further projects and we are happy to accompany the company on its growth path,” said Steffen Leiwesmeier, Head of Digital Infrastructure Financing at Hamburg Commercial Bank.
Hamburg Commercial Bank is one of the leading project financiers for fiber optic expansion in Europe. In Germany, the bank also specializes in supporting medium-sized companies in this future-oriented sector. Since 2014, the bank has financed projects with a volume of more than one billion euros for digital infrastructure such as broadband and data centers.
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