ᐅ Telecom DSL – Vodafone Cable – or Fiber Optic for a Long Driveway?

Hello everyone,
I’m a bit desperate. We are currently working on a project to build a triplex townhouse in the north of Munich. Right now, the basement ceiling is finished, and the general contractor is helping us arrange the utility connections (electricity, water, telephone/internet). Since the new building replaces an old house, the connections have to be completely redone.

This alone is quite expensive because our private driveway to the property/building is about 60m (200 feet) long. The townhouse is centrally located within a residential block. Additionally, the previous house had the address number 6b. With the subdivision into a triplex, we will be assigned the number 6g.

Now it looks like we have the following options:
1. Telekom DSL copper connection with a maximum of 250 Mbit/s – fiber is probably possible but apparently very expensive. Availability check for 6b showed not available.
- Fixed price of €799 (hopefully – I’m worried about the long driveway)
- The speed seems outdated to me
2. Vodafone cable connection (coaxial?!) with up to 1000 Mbit/s
- Possibly not future-proof?
- Limited choice of providers when switching (only Vodafone, maybe Pyur) – I am currently quite satisfied with Pyur in my rental apartment
3. SWM/M-Net availability check said up to 1000 Mbit/s is available for 6b
- But I fear that, like Telekom, I will have to pay for the connection from the street to the building
4. Option 1 + have an empty conduit installed when laying water/electricity lines?! So the option for fiber later remains open?
- I read that empty conduits can only be laid up to 20-30m (65-100 feet)

After some research, I see that FTTH (fiber to the home) is offered free of charge by SWM/M-Net, but first you need FTTB (fiber to the building).
I’m worried that Telekom DSL and Vodafone cable will also be more expensive than expected because of the long driveway...

Should I give up on fiber and settle for 250 Mbit DSL? Or go with the older cable technology that still promises 1000 Mbit/s?
I am an IT professional with a home server, etc., and really appreciate internet speeds above 200 Mbit...

Best regards,
Mike

If you want to rely on just one option, go for fiber optic. Cable will continue to be available for quite some time, but DSL is already on the decline. There are ongoing discussions about when and how DSL networks will be decommissioned. Spare parts for the technology have not been produced for a while, and the systems are maintained only with existing stock.

If the M-Net availability check shows a positive result for the 6b area, fiber optic should already be installed there. For these specific cases, M-Net offers a builder support service. Just pick up the phone and talk to them.

What surprises me, however, is that the basement is already built, yet this fundamental issue hasn’t been resolved.

I agree with the previous speaker and strongly recommend contacting M-Net. They are simply the best provider I have ever had! When you call, you speak to a real person who is genuinely competent (!) and able to help. Technicians arrive on time (!), appointments are kept, and so on. Just as it should be… And yes – if available, definitely go for fiber optic!

Hello,

I would always recommend installing an empty conduit as a precaution. I did the same during the construction of our house. The fiber optic installation teams were laying cables while our house was not yet built. They could have laid the conduit already since we knew the exact route, but they didn’t want to do that. So the other utility lines (electricity, etc.) were installed first, and the fiber optic cable was planned to be buried afterward.

Then, in coordination with the electricity provider, I had an empty conduit installed alongside the power line by the installer. The fiber optic provider then used that conduit, and the fiber cable was inside the house in five minutes. Everyone was happy, and the process was completed without any major digging or disruption.

This is one way it can work smoothly.

And make sure to choose one with a smooth interior surface! (e.g., Kabuflex). Some utility providers will not accept anything else, and it is also easier to pull cables through over long distances.

M-Net recently announced a collaboration with Telekom in the field of fiber optics. Not that I would recommend Telekom as an ISP (their peering is poor), but as far as I know, it is possible to choose ISPs that cooperate with Telekom within the Telekom fiber network.