Steirische Breitband- Und Digitalinfrastrukturgesellschaft M.b.h. (sbidi)

What Steirische Breitband- Und Digitalinfrastrukturgesellschaft M.b.h. (sbidi) does

sbidi (Steirische Breitband- und Digitalinfrastrukturgesellschaft m.b.H.) is a 100% state-owned limited liability company (GmbH) subsidiary of Land Steiermark, headquartered in Graz, Austria, and founded in 2019 to operationalize the Styrian state broadband strategy. The company coordinates municipal broadband projects, advises 150+ Styrian municipalities, and deploys open-access passive FTTH fiber infrastructure in rural 'white spot' areas where commercial operators lack investment incentive. Its core product is a true Fiber-to-the-Home Point-to-Point fiber network using a 4-fiber concept with no splitters or active components in the field; the network is designed as a digital twin and the active layer is operated by Energie Steiermark Breitband GmbH along a 110kV backbone to the Raaba-Grambach data center.

Revenue mechanics combine three streams: (i) one-time household and building connection fees on a phased price plan ranging from €300 (Aktionsphase with €300 activation bonus for ISP sign-up within 3 months plus 24-month retention) to €1,800 (Betriebsphase without bonus); (ii) rental of passive infrastructure (ducts, fiber cables, distribution cabinets, local exchanges) to ISPs and the active operator under equal, non-discriminatory open-access terms aligned with the EU Three Layer Open Model; and (iii) project funding from federal (BBA2020, BBA2030), EU (ELER), and Styrian state grant programs, which cover approximately 60–65% of project volumes. Total project volume across 24 BBA2020/BBA2030 projects reached approximately €145 million by end of 2023, with 1,375+ km of fiber laid, and Styria as a whole attracting roughly €543 million in federal broadband subsidies and over €1 billion in total investment since 2017.

Complementary service modules include Gemeindeausbau (end-to-end municipal expansion), Mitverlegung (co-installation of ducts during road or utility works), Gemeindeberatung (broadband strategy and subsidy guidance), and a research initiative with TU Graz IGMS exploring Distributed Acoustic Sensing on deployed fiber for road and landslide monitoring. The company operates with a small team (11–50 staff) referenced on its website, distributes through an online ordering portal (bestellen.sbidi.eu), municipal info events, certified construction partners, and the open ISP layer, and has been recognized via the European Broadband Awards (St. Nikolai im Sausal project in the EU Digital Strategy project library) and Open Access ID certification.

Name

Steirische Breitband- Und Digitalinfrastrukturgesellschaft M.b.h. (sbidi)

Legal name

Steirische Breitband- und Digitalinfrastrukturgesellschaft m.b.H. (SBIDI)

Website

https://sbidi.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

sbidi is a 100% state-owned subsidiary of Land Steiermark, Austria, that builds and operates open-access FTTH fiber networks in underserved rural Styrian municipalities, serving end households, SMEs, ISPs, and local governments via federally and EU-subsidized infrastructure projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Broadband Infrastructure

NAICS

Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (51711), Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction (237130)

akta.pro primary industry

Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Operators (HDAIACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Neutral-Host Fiber & Shared Access Network Operators (HDAIACAJ), Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP/FTTH) Broadband Providers (HDAIABAC)

Keywords

• Fiber optic infrastructure
• FTTH network deployment
• Open access broadband
• Passive network rental
• Municipal broadband advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Graz

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Passive Fiber Infrastructure Rental: sbidi constructs, owns, and rents passive fiber infrastructure (ducts, fiber cables, distribution cabinets, maintenance shafts, and local fiber exchanges) to ISPs and the active network operator. Revenue is generated through rental arrangements with internet service providers using the open network.
2. Government Grants and Subsidies: As a publicly funded entity, sbidi receives project funding from the Austrian federal government (BBA2020, BBA2030 programs), the European Union (ELER), and the State of Styria. Approximately 60-65% of project volumes are grant-funded. End-users pay a one-time connection fee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

sbidi plans, builds, owns, and rents out passive FTTH fiber optic infrastructure (ducts, fiber cables, distribution cabinets, house connections) to internet service providers in underserved rural areas of Styria, Austria. The infrastructure operates under an open-access model so multiple ISPs can serve end-customers on equal terms. End-users order connections directly through sbidi's online portal at phased connection fees ranging from €300 to €1,800.

Product overview

sbidi operates as a single-product broadband infrastructure company with supporting service modules. The core offering is the sbidi Glasfaser-Anschluss (FTTH fiber-to-the-home connection), offered to both individual homeowners (Einzelanschluss) and multi-party buildings (Mehrparteienhaus) through a phased pricing model (Preisplan). Complementary service modules include municipality fiber expansion (Gemeindeausbau), co-installation during infrastructure projects (Mitverlegung), and municipal advisory (Gemeindeberatung). Supporting tools include the online ordering portal (bestellen.sbidi.eu), the infrastructure query tool (Einbautenerhebung.at), the GIS portal (STERZ/GemeindeGIS), and a referenced speed test. A research initiative explores using deployed fiber as environmental sensors (Forschung) in collaboration with TU Graz. All offerings are anchored on an open, non-discriminatory fiber network model compliant with EU Open Access principles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• sbidi Einzelanschluss (Individual FTTH Connection) Individual fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband connection for single-family homeowners in sbidi expansion areas. Includes house connection box, connection tubing in required length, trench to property boundary, professional installation, and functional test. Customers provide minor self-work (Eigenleistung). Customers then select any ISP operating on the open-access sbidi network.
• sbidi Mehrparteienhaus (Multi-Party Building FTTH Service) Fiber optic connection service for multi-unit residential buildings. sbidi covers planning, trenching to the property, the house connection box, and a junction box sized to the number of units; building owners arrange interior wiring. Residents activate using their individual OAN-ID (Open Access Identification) found on the FTU (Fiber Termination Unit).
• Gemeindeausbau (Municipality Fiber Expansion Service) End-to-end fiber optic network expansion service for Styrian municipalities, including feasibility assessment, coordinated planning, construction management, and network commissioning. Targets rural and underserved areas of Styria where private operators have no market incentive.
• sbidi Mitverlegung (Co-Installation Service) Co-installation service for municipalities and infrastructure operators enabling fiber-ready conduit placement during road, sidewalk, cycling path, canal, water line, or street lighting construction projects to reduce future fiber deployment costs and integrate with RVS-compliant construction.
• sbidi Gemeindeberatung (Municipal Advisory Service) Advisory service for Styrian municipalities on broadband strategy, fiber expansion planning, funding opportunities (OpenNet, Connect programs via FFG), and coordination of public infrastructure projects.
• Forschung (Fiber Sensor Research Initiative) Research initiative using deployed fiber optic cables as environmental sensors for monitoring road conditions, frost-thaw cycles, traffic frequency, and landslides. Conducted with TU Graz IGMS (Prof. Werner Lienhart) in the Paldau pilot project comparing standard communication fiber against specialized sensing fiber.

Quantifiable outcome

• 78% of Styrian households now have >100 Mbit/s available (up from ~55% at sbidi's founding in 2019)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Energie Steiermark Breitband GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationThe Active Network Operator (ANO/ Aktivnetzbetreiber) for all sbidi fiber networks. Provides complete server infrastructure and manages data transfer between end-users and data centers via fiber optic connections along high-voltage power lines (110kV backbone via the energy grid to the Raaba-Grambach data center). Also a project cooperation partner on BBA2030 Stainz project.
• TU Graz — Institut für Ingenieurgeodäsie und Messsysteme (IGMS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner for the Paldau fiber sensing pilot project. Prof. Werner Lienhart's IGMS provides expertise in fiber optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) for infrastructure monitoring. The institute has specialized in fiber optic measurements since 2001, applying them to landslides, earth dams, retaining structures, piles, supply lines, tunnels, bridges, and rail tracks.
• Abteilung 7 – Referat Bauausführung ländlicher Wegebau, Land SteiermarkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Road Construction Division of the Styrian State Government (led by DI Armin Schlachter) is the research partner for the Paldau fiber sensing pilot project, contributing practical expertise in road infrastructure maintenance and providing construction supervision for sbidi fiber projects (RVS compliance).
• Styrian Municipalities (150+ municipalities)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 150 Styrian municipalities receive sbidi advisory services for broadband planning and strategy. Municipalities are key partners in fiber projects, providing co-investment, site access, and community engagement support. Municipal cooperation agreements are prerequisite for project initiation.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Open Dutch Fiber: Dutch open-access FTTH operator deploying fiber networks and providing wholesale access to ISPs, including in lower-density areas. Comparable open-access, wholesale-only model with public/regulatory support.
• Open Fiber (Italy): Italian state-backed wholesale-only FTTH operator building open-access fiber across Italy, including white-spot/rural areas with public co-financing. Directly comparable as a state-sponsored, open-access, passive-infrastructure-only FTTH entity.
• Deutsche GigaNetz: German FTTH open-access operator deploying fiber in smaller cities and rural areas, working with municipalities and ISPs on a wholesale layer model. Directly comparable business model and target geography (underserved German communities).
• Deutsche Glasfaser: Germany's leading open-access FTTH operator focused on rural and underserved regions, deploying P2P-style fiber networks and selling wholesale access to ISPs. Closely comparable to sbidi's open-access, rural-focused FTTH model with government grant co-financing.

Regional players

• M-Net Telekommunikations: Regional FTTH/fiber operator in Bavaria (Germany), jointly owned by municipal utilities and infrastructure investors, offering open wholesale access to ISPs in its footprint. Comparable as a regionally focused FTTH infrastructure provider with municipal utility backing.
• NetCologne: Regional fiber operator serving the Cologne region (Germany) with its own FTTH network and ISP services. Comparable as a regional, utility-affiliated open fiber network operator, though serving an urban/regional rather than purely rural mix.
• Salzburg AG: Regional Austrian utility and telecommunications provider operating fiber networks in the Salzburg region, including broadband services to households and businesses. Comparable as an Austrian regional utility with fiber infrastructure competing/overlapping in adjacent federal states.

Others

• euNetworks: European fiber infrastructure operator owning and leasing fiber capacity across multiple countries. Adjacent, enabling peer as a wholesale fiber infrastructure investor/operator, relevant for understanding the wholesale fiber economics sbidi depends on.

Broad incumbents

• Swisscom: Swiss incumbent telecom with extensive FTTH/FTTx coverage including rural areas via Swisscom's universal-service obligations. Comparable broad incumbent benchmark for state-driven rural fiber expansion in a neighboring DACH market.
• A1 Telekom Austria: Largest Austrian telecommunications carrier with nationwide fiber, mobile, and broadband offerings, including in Styria. Comparable as the dominant incumbent that competes for ISP customers on sbidi's open network and whose expansion choices shape sbidi's addressable white-spot footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/sbidi
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC-N-kgJkEhLL3x4mzD8PXZg
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php?id=100077739993485
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sbidi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Steirische Breitband- Und Digitalinfrastrukturgesellschaft M.b.h. (sbidi)