EU Gigabit Infrastructure Act Accelerated Deployment Approved – Changes and Criticism

The bill for the accelerated deployment of gigabit networks has been provisionally approved by the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament. Technical experts will now further develop the text. The law will not apply until 2025 at the earliest.

There are made some changes to this Gigabit Infrastructure Act compared to the initial bill. For example, exceptions have been added for ‘critical national infrastructure’, smaller municipalities will receive an exception for a transition period and ‘specific provisions’ have been added that should ‘promote connectivity in rural and remote areas’.

The intention of the law is to allow companies in the European Union to install gigabit networks faster and at lower costs. The aim is for every household in the EU to be able to use the internet with at least 1Gbit/s by 2030. This can be via fiber optic or 5G. By law, permit rules must be harmonized throughout the EU, making applications easier. Government buildings must also cooperate in installing the necessary infrastructure such as transmission towers. In addition, it relaxes rules regarding cooperation on, for example, transmission towers. The EU wants to invest around 65 billion euros in this annually.

A text is now being drafted in collaboration with technical experts and still needs to be formally adopted by the Council and Parliament. The EU member states must then vote on the bill. If the law is passed, it will apply 18 months later.

The ETNO, a partnership of European providers, said in a statement about the new bill that ‘the outcome of the political negotiations deviates from the initial ambition level of the European Commission’. “Crucial measures to reduce the timing and costs of the rollout” have been weakened, it said. As an example, it was initially intended that companies installing gigabit networks should obtain tacit permission for work where possible. However, this rule has now become optional, which according to ETNO could lead to market fragmentation.

2024-02-07 08:08:33
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