The European Commission has made a commitment to ensure Gigabit-speed connectivity is available to all of its citizens and businesses across the European Union by 2030. The ‘Gigabit Infrastructure Act’ was adopted to enable “faster, cheaper and more effective” rollout of Gigabit networks.
It is now up to the European Parliament and the Council to examine the proposed Regulation. Upon adoption of the commission’s proposal by the co-legislators, the new rules will be directly applicable in all the member states.
The Gigabit Infrastructure Act aims to reduce the costs and administrative burden associated with the deployment of Gigabit networks. It will simplify and digitalize permitting procedures and enhance the coordination of civil works between network operators. Additionally, access will be enhanced to the underlying infrastructure, which represents up to 70 percent of the costs of network deployment, according to the EU.
“All new or renovated buildings, except in justified cases, will be required to be equipped with fiber so that citizens can enjoy the fastest connectivity services,” the EC said. “Thanks to the new rules, operators will be able to swiftly deploy networks through simplified, digitized and less costly procedures.”
The commission also published a draft Gigabit Recommendation, which seeks to provide access to telecom networks of operators with market power, in order to incentivize faster switch-off of legacy technologies. Additionally, the commission will gather views on how increasing demands for connectivity and technological advances will affect future network deployments.
“There is an urgent need for more bandwidth at faster speeds to enable smarter, more flexible and more innovative services for citizens, businesses and key public sectors, powered by the development and use of technologies, such as cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), data spaces, virtual reality and the metaverse and in which European citizens enjoy their digital rights,” the EC said.
The draft Gigabit Recommendation hopes to accelerate the sunset of legacy technologies within two to three years, and foster fast Gigabit network deployment, for example by promoting pricing flexibility for access to regulated networks, while enabling sustainable competition.
In its third action, the commission has launched an exploratory consultation into the future of the connectivity sector and its infrastructure. The aim is to gather views on the changing technological and market landscape and how it may affect the sector for electronic communications.
In particular, the exploration seeks to identify the types of infrastructure needed for Europe to keep ahead of technological developments and to lead its digital transformation in the coming years. The exploratory consultation is part of an open dialogue about the potential need for all players benefitting from the digital transformation to fairly contribute to the investments in connectivity infrastructure. “This is a complex issue which requires a comprehensive analysis of the underlying facts and figures, before deciding on the need for further action,” the E.C. said. “The commission is strongly committed to protecting a neutral and open internet.”
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