For more than 20 years now, we have been offering free 16 Mbit/s broadband lines to all general and vocational schools in Germany as part of the Telekom@School initiative. As of fall 2022, more than 19 000 schools were making use of our offer. In the reporting year, nearly 8 500 additional schools took advantage of our subsidized prices to upgrade to bandwidths of up to 250 Mbit/s.
Since 2020, school authorities may opt for a flat rate for education (only available in German), which provides pupils with an unlimited data allowance for educational content, for a low monthly charge. In addition, school authorities can provide tablets, laptops, and other means to disadvantaged students, also with the help of funds from the Federal Government’s Digital Compact for Schools campaign. This gives children and young people the opportunity, irrespective of their family background, to learn how to use digital media. We consolidate our commitment to schools in our Group-wide Digital Education and School program.
Together with Microsoft, we have been supporting schools in Germany with an extensive digital education package (only available in German) since 2021. The package includes laptops or tablet PCs and special educational licenses for Microsoft 365 software. A team of Deutsche Telekom experts – specially certified by Microsoft – provides the service and helps set up the devices. Schools can test the package free of charge and without obligation.
What technical needs does a school have? Who will commission laptops and smart boards? How can teachers secure and manage the new technology? With our Magenta Classroom (only available in German), we accompany schools and school authorities on their way toward digital education. Our TI service offers everything, including the needs assessment for technical infrastructure, installation and operations management, and even training courses and support – on site and remote. Working together with selected schools, we developed standards to ensure that classes are a positive experience for everyone involved – whether on a smart board or tablet PC. In addition, teachers do not have as many technical issues to deal with and gain more time to concentrate on didactic matters.
Education Report 2022: „Digital school“. With our first education report (only available in German), we illustrate the current situation and the challenges in the German education market. The report focuses on supporting learners and presents our holistic digitalization concept.
Digital education at Digital X The evolution of the digital education was one of our key topics at Digital X (only available in German) in Cologne once again in 2022. The two-day digitalization trade fair featured a themed pavilion dedicated to the aspects of technology and knowledge culture when it comes to the megatrend of digital education. In 2022, Digital X attracted more than 70 000 visitors – including members of the general public for the first time. Digital X 2022 won a total of five awards in the renowned international Best Event Awards World (BEA World) competition, including two gold awards.
International support for school digitalization In the United States, T-Mobile US is also committed to connecting schools and students. The company’s Project 10Million initiative, which was launched in 2020, was continued in the reporting year. This program offers free internet services and mobile hotspots for underserved households with school-age children. It aims to reach up to 10 million eligible households within five years. By the end of 2022, T-Mobile US worked with school districts, extracurricular programs, and local authorities to offer affordable internet access to more than 5.3 million students nationwide.
In the reporting year, other national companies, such as those in Greece, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, continued their efforts on behalf of school students’ digital participation. The OTE Group in Greece, for instance, sought to promote students’ digital literacy. Over the last nine years, the national company has served as a strategic partner to WRO Hellas, a non-profit organization for robotics and the sciences: Together, they supported a number of initiatives for disseminating robotics and STEM educational methods in the Greek education system. More than 30 000 school students participated in these initiatives to date. In addition, the OTE Museum held online and classroom STEM programs for programming and coding in 2022, aimed at children aged six to twelve. 600 young students attended these courses.
Slovak Telekom launched its ENTER program in 2020, whose objective is to promote innovation in education and the development of digital literacy among children. This initiative aims to improve computer science instruction at schools and to awaken interest in technology and programming among children. To enable digital education, Slovak Telekom also teams with non-profit organizations to donate technical equipment to schools. In 2022, students of elementary schools and high schools that were supported by ENTER developed their own prototypes built on Micro Bit solutions.
In 2022, T-Mobile Czech Republic launched its Keys to Media project, which aims to improve media literacy among children and young people in elementary and high schools, as well as fight the spread of disinformation on the internet. Keys to Media provides teachers with educational content in the form of videos and podcasts. The project gives students the opportunity to try their hand at journalism through public debates and competitions.
Further information about Deutsche Telekom’s international commitment in this area is available in the Profiles of the national companies.
For more than 20 years now, we have been offering free 16 Mbit/s
broadband lines to all general and vocational schools in Germany as part of the Telekom@School initiative. As of fall 2022, more than 19 000 schools were making use of our offer. In the reporting year, nearly 8 500 additional schools took advantage of our subsidized prices to upgrade to bandwidths of up to 250 Mbit/s.
Since 2020, school authorities may opt for a flat rate for education (only available in German), which provides pupils with an unlimited data allowance for educational content, for a low monthly charge. In addition, school authorities can provide tablets, laptops, and other means to disadvantaged students, also with the help of funds from the Federal Government’s Digital Compact for Schools campaign. This gives children and young people the opportunity, irrespective of their family background, to learn how to use digital media. We consolidate our commitment to schools in our Group-wide Digital Education and School program.
Together with Microsoft, we have been supporting schools in Germany with an extensive digital education package (only available in German) since 2021. The package includes laptops or tablet PCs and special educational licenses for Microsoft 365 software. A team of Deutsche Telekom experts – specially certified by Microsoft – provides the service and helps set up the devices. Schools can test the package free of charge and without obligation.
What technical needs does a school have? Who will commission laptops and smart boards? How can teachers secure and manage the new technology? With our Magenta Classroom (only available in German), we accompany schools and school authorities on their way toward digital education. Our TI service offers everything, including the needs assessment for technical infrastructure, installation and operations management, and even training courses and support – on site and remote. Working together with selected schools, we developed standards to ensure that classes are a positive experience for everyone involved – whether on a smart board or tablet PC. In addition, teachers do not have as many technical issues to deal with and gain more time to concentrate on didactic matters.
Education Report 2022: „Digital school“.
With our first education report (only available in German), we illustrate the current situation and the challenges in the German education market. The report focuses on supporting learners and presents our holistic digitalization concept.
Digital education at Digital X
The evolution of the digital education was one of our key topics at Digital X (only available in German) in Cologne once again in 2022. The two-day digitalization trade fair featured a themed pavilion dedicated to the aspects of technology and knowledge culture when it comes to the megatrend of digital education. In 2022, Digital X attracted more than 70 000 visitors – including members of the general public for the first time. Digital X 2022 won a total of five awards in the renowned international Best Event Awards World (BEA World) competition, including two gold awards.
International support for school digitalization
In the United States, T-Mobile US is also committed to connecting schools and students. The company’s Project 10Million initiative, which was launched in 2020, was continued in the reporting year. This program offers free internet services and mobile hotspots for underserved households with school-age children. It aims to reach up to 10 million eligible households within five years. By the end of 2022, T-Mobile US worked with school districts, extracurricular programs, and local authorities to offer affordable internet access to more than 5.3 million students nationwide.
In the reporting year, other national companies, such as those in Greece, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, continued their efforts on behalf of school students’ digital participation. The OTE Group in Greece, for instance, sought to promote students’ digital literacy. Over the last nine years, the national company has served as a strategic partner to WRO Hellas, a non-profit organization for robotics and the sciences: Together, they supported a number of initiatives for disseminating robotics and STEM
educational methods in the Greek education system. More than 30 000 school students participated in these initiatives to date. In addition, the OTE Museum held online and classroom STEM programs for programming and coding in 2022, aimed at children aged six to twelve. 600 young students attended these courses.
Slovak Telekom launched its ENTER program in 2020, whose objective is to promote innovation in education and the development of digital literacy among children. This initiative aims to improve computer science instruction at schools and to awaken interest in technology and programming among children. To enable digital education, Slovak Telekom also teams with non-profit organizations to donate technical equipment to schools. In 2022, students of elementary schools and high schools that were supported by ENTER developed their own prototypes built on Micro Bit solutions.
In 2022, T-Mobile Czech Republic launched its Keys to Media project, which aims to improve media literacy among children and young people in elementary and high schools, as well as fight the spread of disinformation on the internet. Keys to Media provides teachers with educational content in the form of videos and podcasts. The project gives students the opportunity to try their hand at journalism through public debates and competitions.
Further information about Deutsche Telekom’s international commitment in this area is available in the Profiles of the national companies.