The state of digitization in authorities is “a scandal”, says Telekom boss Tim Höttges. The economy let itself be left behind in an international comparison because it was “too complacent”. He calls for large investments.

Telekom boss: Germany is sleeping through digitization

At the Digital X trade fair, Tim Höttges settled accounts with the sluggish digitization in Germany. You are now “too complacent” and have that lost leadership. Now the price has to be paid for having rested on prosperity for too long.

“It must be our aim to be the leader again,” says Höttges. Germany let itself be left behind and now only ranks 13th out of 27 in an EU comparison. He describes the energy crisis and inflation as well as the shortage of skilled workers as immense challenges that Germany must face.

In order not to fall further behind, the Telekom boss demands extensive investments in further digitization, because “innovation is the prosperity of tomorrow”. Last year, Germany only put one percent of its gross domestic product into this area. He envisions annual investments of six percent to halt the downtrend.

Is a prepaid tariff still worth it today? The answer in the video:

Höttges: Digitization in authorities “a scandal”

Höttges is particularly keen on that Digitization in authorities away. This is no less than “a scandal”. Even this year, Germany would not be able to digitize 35 government services as planned. In Greece, on the other hand, more than 1,500 government services have already been digitized. “A decade of effort” is needed now.

According to Höttges, Telekom wants to do this every year six billion euros invest in the expansion of digitization. The focus should be on 5G and fiber optics in particular (source: Focus Online).