DSL vs. Fiber Optic Experiences?

For all of Germany seen, yes. But I can well imagine that in the future DSL lines will be discontinued regionally if the provider has already developed the same area with fiber optic.

The problem is just that "the same area" is not one area. Maybe in urban areas. Not in rural ones. Here, "an area" sometimes only means a single street because there are too few interested parties on the next street. At my home, connection is also only done in spots – since we have fast copper DSL, we don’t even get an offer for fiber optic in my street. 150m away, yes.

That is technically completely wrong, unfortunately. DSL is on OSI Layer 1 (alongside fiber) and is its own medium based on copper. The standard defines the communication between the DSL modem and DSLAM, which usually stand somewhere by the roadside and are connected via fiber optic.

What is meant by fiber-optic internet, as discussed here, is FTTH, meaning the fiber optic cable runs all the way to your basement/utility room. That has nothing to do with DSL anymore and works completely differently technically. The fiber connection is not much different in terms of protocol than your LAN cable at home, just with light instead of copper (very simplified!). The ONT, for example, is "almost" just a dumb Ethernet to fiber converter (+GPON). The access control is managed by the provider via smart hardware, and authentication is often done via PPPoE. This, however, is the only similarity with DSL. DSL requires a lot more technology overall and, above all, electricity to make it all work.

Fiber is also much less susceptible to interference because the provider no longer needs as much hardware. Also, much higher speeds are possible. The DSL standard, for example, already stops at gigabit. In addition, and this might be important for the gaming son, the ping is generally much lower because the packet has to be processed much less and passes through less hardware.

And yes, it initially only goes as far as the basement/utility room and usually continues with WLAN or, at best, LAN. But that’s not too bad at first because with copper over the distance of a normal residential building (max. 55m with Cat6), you can still easily reach 10 Gbit/s.

So, to get to the point, fiber technically does everything better, but if you only watch Netflix and YouTube and occasionally play on your phone, then the small tariff with 150 Mbit/s is enough. But do ask your son; for gaming, a faster connection never hurts. Especially if you often have to download something. That is, according to your description, the only added value I see.

But a completely different thought, since fiber optic is already installed in your house anyway, you are prepared for the future. If DSL is ever switched off, you can still switch. With a bit of time and money, you can make sure that the apartment is properly wired by then. Be it either fiber optic directly into the apartment or via LAN cable. You currently have no pressure here at all. So read through the advantages, and if it is worth it for you, then switch.

I have a question: If fiber optic is installed in the house and then a corresponding Fritzbox is used, can I then use my internal LAN connection without any compromises or would the laid LAN cable not be optimally suitable for this or come with limitations?

I have a question: If I get fiber optic installed in the house and then use a compatible Fritzbox, can I use my internal LAN connection without any compromises, or would the laid LAN cable not be optimal for this or come with restrictions?

That is not a problem. The LAN cables on the Fritzbox can handle 1 Gbit/s, the fiber optic line can handle up to that as well. For private customers, there is currently nothing faster (as far as I know). I assume you already have a working LAN wiring in the house with Gigabit switches. Otherwise, just google the model numbers.

Uhm....I will probably get the fiber optic cable into the utility room in the usual way. From there, directly to the router and from the utility room router to the "Verteiler" located right next to it (that is probably the switch?). And from there it goes, for example, upstairs to a LAN wall socket. I don't know if this "Verteiler" (see picture) has or can do "Gigabit". Would this work without loss if I were to get fiber optic into the house? Sorry if described incorrectly.