The legislative package should help to address network rollout bureaucracy and costs, but operators will be hoping for greater support
EC to unveil measures to boost network rollouts: By the end of 2022, the EC is widely expected to issue a draft version of the Connectivity Infrastructure Act (CIA) for consultation. The proposed legislation will represent a package of measures intended to accelerate fibre and 5G deployment and adoption rates across the EU, which currently trail leading global markets such as China and South Korea. However, publication of the CIA before the end of the Czech Presidency makes for a tight timeline and the act will not – as originally planned – include preliminary arguments that large, traffic-generating tech firms, e.g. Google and Meta, should directly compensate the region’s operators for telecoms network costs. Instead, the EC will launch a consultation later this year (21 December has been suggested as the likely date) on the ‘fair share’ issue, for it to be discussed further in 2023.
The CIA is expected to consist of four key parts: The draft CIA will aim to ease the investment burden on the telecoms sector and incentivise a faster pace of rollout of quality digital infrastructure. The act is due to feature four main components:
A revision of the 2014 Broadband Cost Reduction Directive (BCRD) to lower the cost of fibre and 5G deployments, and bridge the network investment gap;
Enshrining in law guidelines set out in the 2020 Connectivity Toolbox, which identifies a range of policy levers and best practices in areas such as spectrum assignments and physical infrastructure access;
A recommendation on Very High Capacity Networks (VHCNs) to create the right conditions for private infrastructure investment; and
Updating the broadband state aid guidelines, for example to facilitate operator co-investment partnerships, which have so far not been a common sight in Europe.
Operators are pushing for an overhaul of the regulatory environment: As countries around the world pursue ambitious agendas for digital, an accelerated rollout of high-performance networks in Europe is seen as essential to stimulating economic growth, establishing technological sovereignty and supporting the region’s industrial capabilities. However, according to Vodafone, it takes five to eight months on average to obtain permits for access to macro mobile sites, despite the BCRD’s maximum four-month timeframe. Progress on the CIA was discussed at a recent EURACTIV-GSMA event, where Deutsche Telekom referred to spectrum as an “evergreen” bottleneck, with the sector still yet to secure the right licence conditions. While the CIA should help to reduce red tape and address some of the deployment challenges and costs facing operators, it is likely to be one piece of a broader connectivity puzzle.
