Germany grants 865 mln euros of subsidies in broadband push

FRANKFURT, July 27 (Reuters) - Germany has granted 865 million euros ($1 billion) of subsidies for high-speed, fibre-based telecom networks in a fourth round of funding decisions, the German digital infrastructure ministry said in a statement as it seeks to bring fast internet to all parts of the country.

* These subsidies are for projects worth a total 1.8 billion euros, it said on Thursday.

* "With (Other OTC: WWTH - news) these decisions, we are adding around 85,000 kilometres of new fibre optic networks and are bringing turbo-internet to under-supplied regions," Transport and Infrastructure Minister Alexander Dobrindt said.

* The government launched an initiative earlier this year to attract 100 billion euros of public and private investment to turn Germany into a "gigabit society" by 2025 - 20 times the 50 megabits per second (Mbps) it is promising by next year.

* Some 75.5 percent of households in Germany had access to fast internet service with speeds of at least 50 Mbps by the end of 2016, 26 percent more than three years earlier, the ministry said.

* The government has promised every household a download speed of at least 50 megabits per second (Mbps) by 2018. That is ample for an average home, but German industry has warned it is not sufficient for the many small but world-class engineering firms in rural parts of the country. ($1 = 0.8549 euros) (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan)