Faster internet – Another €400 million for broadband expansion

Tursky has been a member of the federal government since last May. A not inconsiderable portion of the population has apparently escaped notice. According to the latest APA/OGM confidence index, only 19 percent have an opinion about the Treasury Secretary. With his manageable level of consciousness he has no problem, he assures: “All in all, of course, a secretary of state does not have the attention that a minister has. It’s about putting my subjects forward. And that’s what I did the first year – not with screaming announcements or attracting attention at all costs.” His responsibilities are “basically those where technical work is done and a lot of work is done in the background”.

Ask for fiberglass layer
Digitization depends on a stable, powerful internet. Broadband expansion has also recently increased significantly in rural areas. However, the fiber optic connections offered are often not used at all – a third of private households remain dependent on mobile gigabit-compatible internet because the quality is sufficient for them and fiber optic connections are often associated with excavation work on private property. While the use of broadband internet (Fibre To The Home, FTTH) leading directly to the home or apartment is over 80 percent in Northern Europe, in Austria only 19 percent of the available connections are used.

“In this case, 57 percent of households would potentially be connected to fiber optic internet. We need to start very clearly and ask ourselves how we can increase demand,” Tursky clarifies. There are various ideas about this, such as financing in the form of a broadband check of up to 1000 euros for the connection costs.

“If you opt for a fiber optic connection, the value of your property increases enormously,” Tursky notes. In addition, the corona pandemic has shown that a stable fiber optic connection has decisive advantages over mobile internet in terms of reliability: “In 2030, we want to expand both nationally, 5G and fiber optic. But as digitization continues, people need faster internet.” The latter is guaranteed with FTTH connections, which allow download speeds of up to 1000 megabits per second.

The expansion of e-government should be promoted
When it comes to e-government, Tursky wants to keep up the pace, especially since Austria “was once a model country” in this area, for example with FinanzOnline. For the digital processing of administrative procedures, a uniform system for all registers is planned, a so-called register system network: “Austrian registers will be interconnected in full respect of data protection in such a way that they can be used for administrative procedures.” by allowing the authority to link directly to the criminal record.

The goal is to make all administrative procedures at the federal level online by 2024. With the registry system network, Tursky then aims for a unified filing platform at the state and municipal level, which should be available by the end of 2024. Construction processes can then be handled online per municipality or per municipality.

Missing shortcuts
“We have good digital solutions. They are just not connected enough,” Tursky emphasises. For example, every citizen could obtain financing much more easily and quickly if – subject to permission – the individual data from the population register and FinanzOnline were linked. “I see huge steps we could take,” says Turksy. Austria could “become a leading nation in e-government again”.

As for the e-ID wallet, the digital driver’s license has been activated by users more than 171,000 times to date, Tursky said. The digital proof of age and identity will follow in the first half of 2023, and the e-card, student card and driver’s license will be integrated in the wallet at the end of 2023.

Promote digital competence
The State Secretary considers it important to promote digital competence “from kindergarten to retirement home”. As an immediate measure, the ‘Digital Skills for All’ program was recently rolled out, with which youth centres, music clubs or old people’s homes are set up as low-threshold learning places where you can gain basic knowledge or continue your studies. Interested associations or institutions can contact the Austrian Exchange Service (OeAD) – Agency for Education and Internationalization, which establishes contacts with local providers and organizes courses. According to Turksy, 300 to 400 training courses have already been planned and funded throughout Austria.