Kabelnoord will provide the rural area of ​​Friesland with fiber optic

Kabelnoord will be installing fiber optics in the outskirts of all municipalities in Friesland. These are areas where fast internet is not yet available. The company will receive a subsidy of 35 million euros for this.

A condition of the subsidy is that Kabelnoord will start work within six months. Within three years, at least 90 percent of addresses in rural areas must have access to high-speed internet. This concerns more than 20,000 addresses.

Kabelnoord and the province of Friesland are working out a loan agreement together, the province writes on its website. This is a condition of the grant, which is provided as a subordinated loan. Market parties could submit a subsidy application between 18 July and 21 August.

The province is looking for customized solutions for the most expensive five percent of the connections. These addresses are not included in Kabelnoord’s plans. The province says that an approach to this will follow before Kabelnoord starts laying the fiber optic network.

The province is also investigating a number of ‘grey areas’, where there is a limited supply of fast internet. According to the province, it is not yet sufficiently clear why these areas are not connected by more established parties. A market consultation should make that clear. Subsequently, further research will be conducted into the possibilities of offering fast internet in these places as well.