Modern information and communication technologies have the potential to considerably increase the competitiveness of SMEs. In this context, WIK has analysed SMEs’ use of broadband services in a research project in the context of a grant of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy. The analysis shows that SMEs are not (yet) able to use the full potential of digitalization. This results from the limited availability of broadband access services as well as from the low willingness to pay for superfast broadband services as a result from a lack of awareness of their potential.
In the context of the study WIK has prepared two papers on the role of municipalities for the broadband network rollout in rural areas and on the use of synergies in network infrastructure (infrastructure sharing) to lower the cost of FTTH-rollout.
The studies are available for download.
