All amorphous materials measured to date show a monotonically increasing absorption (conductivity) proportional to&ngr;&bgr; (&bgr; ≲ 2)in the region above ∼ 0.1 cm−1. Far infrared transmission measurements using a molecular gas laser, and microwave dielectric loss experiments using a cavity perturbation technique establish the existence of such an absorption in evaporated films of &agr;‐Ge. The magnitude of the absorption depends on film preparation. In the microwave region at elevated temperatures a thermally activated conductivity is observed in &agr;‐Ge.