Yes, it has been in discussion for a while now.

It is still to be decided on when it will be offered and crucially for visitors how it will be sold.

It sounds like they will not be sold directly through ticket offices/machines as the €9 was but through a personal subscription model similar to BahnCard, nor has it been decided if it will be made possible or at least easy for non-Germans to get it.

Probably less important to non-German residents (49 euros would add quite a few extra travel days on a Global pass), but may be useful for German residents wanting to criss-cross Europe via Germany.

A 7 day in a month Flexi pass up to a 10 day pass only adds 50 euro for 3 days ICE trains.

In a Swedish FB-group for train travellers there were quite a few persons who went to Germany this summer and only bought a 9 EUR-Ticket and travelled for a few weeks.

I can understand that, but in the context of using Global passes my point that I could get a few extra days of Interrailing for 49 euros, instead of a regional only (I assume it will exclude ICE/IC trains) pass. 

This year I used the 9 euro pass for 3 days around Nuremberg on regional trains, but if I had access to ICE I would have been able to travel to destinations like Leipzig, Strasbourg, Munich or Vienna on day trips. Hence the context I consider this 49 euro pass v extra IR days.

This ticket will have the name 

49€-Ticket and will only be valid in local trains like S-Bahn, RB or RE and public transportation like u-bahn/metro, tram or busses.

And I assume, it would work like 9€-Ticket only on calendar month basis.

I dit that too-but I lve in NL-and made after an initial try-out weekly trips from SU-eve to FRI-eve, as weekends were horrible overcrowded. That way I could also use my weekend season in NL to best purpose. PLus that my main interest was not so much the trains, but the buses/trams etc and I could explore a lot of Germanies nearly 66 tramway systems (yes, I used the InterRail to discover the new Aarhus letbane and Lund sparväg). Odense still has to follow.

Some interesting but not quite comfortable overnite trips could also even be made. My membership for hotel-BB chain also came to good use!

Also note that Austria already has its KLIMA (climate)ticket-this cost 1 / 2/3 €/day, but for yearly subscriptions, for city/province/whole state) and is ONLY for sale to those actually living in AT and for a full year-making it no use for the usual tourist. Strange that Gretha fra Sverige has not yet mentioned that yet to implement. It is still uncertain how German conditions will be and what they will in/exclude.

The best bargain remains HUngary-as all transit there is FREE for seniors>65, but ONLY those from the EU! SK=Slovakia can issue those with a pass that gives you free use of local trains -and apparently to anyone. SI=SLOVenija has also started free travel for 65+, but this is restricted to those holding a special chipcard with the use on it-and this will only be issued to those living in SLO.