Commission presents new initiatives, laying the ground for the transformation of the connectivity sector in the EU

The Commission has presented a set of actions aimed to make Gigabit connectivity available to all citizens and businesses across the EU by 2030, in line with the objectives of Europe's Digital Decade, and to enable the transformation of the connectivity sector in the EU.


Today's initiatives on Connectivity consist of:

• First, the Commission has adopted a proposal for a ‘Gigabit Infrastructure Act', a regulation that will put forward new rules to enable faster, cheaper and more effective rollout of Gigabit networks across the EU.
• Second, it has published a draft Gigabit Recommendation, which seeks to provide guidance to National Regulatory Authorities on the conditions of access to telecom networks of operators with significant market power, in order to incentivise faster switch-off of legacy technologies and accelerated Gigabit networks deployment.
• Third, the Commission has launched an exploratory consultation on the future of the connectivity sector and its infrastructure, to gather views on how increasing demands for connectivity and technological advances may affect the future developments and needs.

Gigabit Infrastructure ActGiven the increasing uptake of advanced digital technologies, 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. In this context, the Gigabit Infrastructure Act responds to the growing demand for faster, more reliable, data-intense connectivity. It will replace the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive (2014).
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Gigabit RecommendationThe draft Gigabit Recommendation focuses on providing guidance to National regulatory authorities (NRAs) about the conditions for accessing the networks of those operators who have significant market power. 
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Consultation on the future of the telecoms sectorThe Commission has launched a broad exploratory consultation on 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.

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