Regulation 2024/1309 - Measures to reduce the cost of deploying gigabit electronic communications networks, amending Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 and repealing Directive 2014/61/EU (Gigabit Infrastructure Act) - Main contents

Official Journal

of the European Union

EN

L series

2024/1309

8.5.2024

The digital economy has changed the internal market profoundly over the past decade. The Union’s vision is a digital economy that delivers sustainable economic and social benefits based on excellent, reliable and secure connectivity for everybody and everywhere in Europe, including in rural, remote and scarcely populated regions as well as in transport corridors. A high-quality digital infrastructure based on very high capacity networks as defined in Article 2, point (2) of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) (‘VHCNs’) underpins almost all sectors of a modern and innovative economy. It can provide for innovative services, more efficient business operations and smart, sustainable, digital societies, while contributing to achieving the Union climate targets. It is of strategic importance to social and territorial cohesion and overall for the Union’s competitiveness, resilience, digital sovereignty and digital leadership. Digitalisation has a profound impact on the everyday social, economic, political and cultural life of all people in the Union. In that regard, limited access and insufficient network expansion can deepen social inequalities, thus creating a new digital divide between people who are able to benefit fully from an efficient and secure digital connectivity, allowing them to access a wide range of services, and people who are unable to do so. In that regard, the roll-out of VHCNs in rural, remote and scarcely populated regions, as well as in social housing, should be a priority for public investment projects, as a key aspect of social inclusion. Therefore, natural and legal persons in the private and public sectors should have the opportunity to be part of the digital economy.

The rapid evolution of technologies, the exponential growth in broadband traffic and the increasing demand for advanced very high-capacity connectivity have further accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the targets laid down in the Commission communication of 19 May 2010 entitled ‘A Digital Agenda for Europe’ have mostly been met, but they have also become obsolete. The share of households having access to 30 Mbps internet speeds has increased from 58,1 % in 2013 to 90 % in 2022. Availability of only 30 Mbps is no longer future-proof and is not aligned with the new objectives set in Directive (EU) 2018/1972 for ensuring connectivity and widespread availability of VHCNs. Therefore, in Decision (EU) 2022/2481 of the European Parliament and Council (4), the Union set updated targets for 2030 that better correspond to the expected connectivity needs of the future where all European households should be covered by a gigabit network, with all populated areas covered by next-generation wireless high-speed networks with performance at least equivalent to that of 5G.

To achieve those targets, there is a need for policies to speed up, simplify and lower the costs of the deployment of very high-capacity fixed and wireless networks...