Few days left to apply for the European Broadband Awards 2021 (19/05/2021)
Europe’s digital transformation by 2030 relies on providing citizens with access to a gigabit network and 5G services. Europe digital decade has already started, and the 2021 European Broadband Awards will honour those that are deploying the networks that all Europeans will need. All projects advanced in implementation, big or small, rural or urban, private or public, local, regional, national or cross-border, and covering all technologies are welcome to apply for the 2021 awards. The deadline for applications is the 17th of September 2021. The winners will receive an EU Broadband Award in the Autumn and will be showcased by the European Commission in the media, EU websites, newsletters and in the broadband good practices database.
Meet the jury of the European Broadband Awards 2021 (24/08/2021)
The projects applying for the European Broadband Awards 2021 will be assessed by a jury composed of five European broadband experts with comprehensive experience. The jury will select the finalists and the winners in each of the five award categories. The jury members are: Per-Olof Gustafsson from Sweden, Ferenc Kneisz from Hungary, Filip Meuris from Belgium, Eglė Misienė from Lithuania and Nicos Ioannou from Cyprus.
Discover how improving connectivity and citizen’s access to digital public services has become the common goal of Italian national and local authorities and the European Commission.
State aid: Commission adopted extension of GBER simplifying rules for aid combined with EU funding and for certain aid measures that support the digital transition (27/07/2021)
The European Commission adopted an extension of the scope of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), which will allow Member States to implement certain aid measures without prior Commission scrutiny. In order to facilitate the digital transition, including in the context of the recovery, the amendment of the GBER simplifies, among others, the rules for supporting the roll-out of fixed broadband networks (in areas with less than 30 Mbps, in areas with less than 100 Mbps connectivity and in some situations in areas with at least 100Mbps but less than 300Mbps), the roll-out of 5G or 4G mobile networks (in areas with no 4G or respectively no 3G coverage) and certain investments for the energy efficiency and digitalisation of buildings (including in-house wiring). The amendment also introduces new rules for aid schemes for certain vouchers for consumers in order to facilitate teleworking, online education, training services, or for SMEs. Furthermore, the GBER foresees new exemptions from notification for certain projects selected in a Connecting Europe Facility call or granted a Seal of Excellence thereunder, including for investments in cross-border sections of 5G corridors, of submarine cables and of certain backbones for cloud and high-performance infrastructure.
Commission publishes study for the future 5G supply ecosystem in Europe (09/08/2021)
The European Commission has published a study on 5G market trends and plausible developments of the 5G supply market looking to 2030.
WiFi4EU stories: an interview with the Mayor of Litovel, Czechia (20/08/2021)
Litovel, a hidden gem of Moravia located about 200 km east of Prague, is one of 312 municipalities that has used a WiFi4EU voucher in Czechia, demonstrating great dedication to the country’s recently approved strategy for digital transformation (under the name of Digitální Česko, Digital Czechia).
Bavaria’s State aid scheme brings gigabit connectivity to socio-economic drivers in grey areas (26/08/2021)
Bavaria’s State aid scheme is bringing gigabit-capable infrastructure to businesses, households, hospitals, educational and public institutions, in more than 420 rural municipalities. The scheme aims to bring Bavaria’s overall high-speed broadband coverage to 99%, with gigabit access throughout Bavaria by 2025. For rural areas, State funding has improved coverage (of at least 30 Mbps) from 27% to over 92% in the last seven years, notes Bavarian State Minister for Finance and Regional Identity, Albert Füracker, in this video interview.
Rural broadband enables smart and responsive water management (26/08/2021)
In this video, Jouke Velstra, Director and Senior Consultant at Acacia Water, explains how the EU-funded ‘Farmers measure water’ project combines high-speed rural broadband and state-of-the-art sensors to help farmers and water authorities in the Netherlands to better manage water usage in the face of climate change. Through rapidly relaying data on soil moisture, temperature and salinity, farmers and water authorities work together to keep crops healthy, improve water and soil quality, and reduce water waste.
Catalonia’s EU-funded fibre network connects over 400 government sites and promotes competitive rural digital services (26/08/2021)
Thanks to the European Regional Development Fund, Catalonia built a fibre backbone to connect over 400 government and local administration sites across the region. By offering the network’s extra capacity to the market, this ‘open network’ allows local operators to compete to use the infrastructure and deploy services to under-served rural areas. “We have generated an ecosystem of over 80 local operators to promote competence and competitiveness in these local areas with very high-quality services”, explains David Ferrer, Catalonian’s Secretary of Digital Policies, in this video interview.
Connectivity: key to revitalising rural areas (30/06/2021)
The Commission published a Communication on the 'Long term vision for rural areas' by 2040, noting connectivity as a key element in revitalising local communities.
Eurobarometer: Europeans’ use and views of electronic communications in the EU (29/06/2021)
The Commission published the results of the Special Eurobarometer survey on E-communications, showing recent trends in electronic communications across the EU.
Digital Alps: Partnering with Broadband Competence Offices to build a digital connectivity roadmap for the Alpine Region (08/07/2021)
Mountain regions have much to gain from digitalisation and broadband connectivity. There is great potential for Smart Villages, SMEs, and access to online services in healthcare, education and much more. Mountain communities, however, face greater obstacles than most in becoming full participants in the European Union’s Digital Decade. Their remoteness, in terms of distance and topography, combined with smaller populations, make them technically and financially challenging to reach with broadband infrastructure.
European Parliament adopted Connecting Europe Facility CEF-2 programme and released new funds for digital, transport and energy projects for 2021-2027 (19/07/2021)
The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF2) programme, worth EUR 30 billion for 2021 to 2027, will fund digital, transport and energy projects. CEF is structured around three pillars, with around EUR 23 billion for transport projects, EUR 5 billion for energy projects and EUR 2 billion for digital projects. CEF2 Digital will support the development of projects of common interest, such as safe and secure very high capacity digital networks and 5G systems, backbones connecting digital capacities such as cloud and HPC, quantum communication infrastructures, submarine cables as well as the digitalisation of transport and energy networks. CEF2 will facilitate the roll-out of Gigabit networks and digital transformation for people and businesses in Europe.
Consultation and discussion forum on the EU’s 2030 Digital Decade vision (22/06/2021)
The Commission launched a consultation and a discussion forum in view of preparing the Digital Decade policy programme, building upon the Communication on the Digital targets for 2030.
“In our journey to digital maturity, affordable high-speed broadband is key for a dynamic digital economy and an accessible and inclusive digital society” states Stelios Himonas of Cyprus’ Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy. Only 2.7% of households in Cyprus, however, have fixed connections above 100 Mbps. In this video, Mr Himonas explains how Cyprus implemented a ‘good practice’ voucher scheme, inspired by the European Broadband Competence Offices Network. By reducing the cost of access for end users, the scheme successfully stimulated take-up by around 3,000 households.
Achieving agricultural sustainability through the Farm Advisory System and rural digitalisation (18/06/2021)
The Farm Advisory System makes innovative knowledge and practices accessible to all farmers. “We are facing a major transformation of the agricultural sector that requires a shift towards more environmentally-friendly practices without undermining economic sustainability” explains Tassos Haniotis, Director of Strategy, Simplification and Policy Analysis in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development. Digitalisation and rural broadband are crucial, enhancing knowledge exchange and creating multiplier effects, such as new jobs and services in rural areas.
Spain’s nation-wide State aid scheme to connect 430,000 people in grey areas (18/06/2021)
“Spain is the first European country to develop a broadband scheme for grey areas with a geographical scope covering all the nation” states Elena Galindo from Spain’s Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda, in this video. Ms Galindo, representing Spain’s national Broadband Competence Office, explains that the scheme is needed as approximately “8-10% of the population living in isolated rural and remote areas could not be covered with fast broadband”. It aims to cover 3.5 million people, of which 430,000 in grey areas, with minimum speeds of 300 Mbps symmetrical, upgradeable to 1 Gbps.
Rural connectivity for the health and management of beehives (18/06/2021)
In rural Latvia, an EU-funded start-up is using digital connectivity to promote healthy bee colonies and modern hive management. Thanks to €15,000 in LEADER funding covering two thirds of the total budget, Jānis Kronbergs developed the BeeKing app, which aims to help beekeepers – and especially newcomers – to learn from others, implement best practices and become more efficient. In this video, he explains the tool as well as its motivation, saying that “bees are very important for our nature, for pollination and biodiversity” and digital technologies can help beekeepers stay competitive.
New digital data highway linking Europe and Latin America renews transatlantic cooperation (01/06/2021)
The EllaLink transatlantic cable connecting the European and South American continents was inaugurated during the Digital Assembly 2021.
This marks the official closing of the connectivity gap thanks to 6,000 kilometres of submarine cable, reducing the current latency by 50% and bringing it under 60 milliseconds.
Workshop on Broadband Cost Reduction Directive: preliminary results of study for its review (16/06/2021)
On two occasions, on 16 and 18 of June, WIK-Consult, together with ICF and Eco-Act, the contractors in charge of the study for the review of the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive (BCRD), are organising a public online workshop to gather and discuss views on the preliminary results of their study.
From industrialised areas to rural regions, WiFi4EU is reaching municipalities from the length and breadth of Europe. Take a look at the maps of WiFi4EU beneficiaries from all calls!
Digital Alps conference, 27-28 May (27/05/2021)
The online Digital Alps conference, 27-28 May, will focus on digital infrastructures, accessibility to services as well as on Open Data in the Alpine region. Gerard de Graaf, Director of Digital Transformation at DG Connect, European Commission, will deliver a key note on the importance of digitalization for all regions in Europe in a post-Covid world. Franco Accordino, Head of Unit for Investment in High-Capacity Networks, DG CONNECT, European Commission, will speak about the Connectivity for the Alpine Region: European Perspectives and Funding Programmes.
SmartCare: using ICT to enable older people to live independently for longer (18/05/2021)
SmartCare is an EU-funded interregional project developing a coordinated, integrated approach to providing health and social care to older people using an open ICT platform to combat a range of common threats to independent living. The Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia is one of ten regions piloting the project, thanks to €8 million in co-funding from the European Regional Development Fund. In this video, Gian Matteo Apuzzo, CEI-WHO Task Force Senior Expert, explains the pilot deployment in his region and how it can improve health and social care, particularly in rural and remote areas.
Connectivity Toolbox: Member States agree on best practices to boost timely deployment of 5G and fibre networks (26/03/2021)
EU Member States have agreed on a Union-wide Connectivity Toolbox, a report of best practices that they consider most efficient in rolling out fixed and mobile very high-capacity networks, including 5G.
WiFi4EU to have a new home in HaDEA (08/04/2021)
As of 1 April 2021, the new European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) will take over the implementation of the WiFi4EU programme from the current Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA).
WiFi4EU stories: an interview with Mayor of Villány, Hungary (03/03/2021)
Known as one of Hungary’s capitals of wine, Villány is a municipality located in the southernmost region of the country and it gives name to the renowned red wine. Underneath its sun-kissed vineyards lies Villány’s knack for digital tourism and commitment to becoming a Smart City. The WiFi4EU team spoke with Mayor István Mayer and Deputy Gabriella Bojcsev to discover more about how WiFi4EU fits in the digital plan of the town.
Europe moves towards 6G (04/03/2021)
The Commission has adopted a legislative proposal for the upcoming European partnership on Smart Networks and Services (SNS) towards 6G.
Summary report of the online participatory workshop – Network deployment: drivers and barriers (05/03/2021)
This report summarises the informal views expressed by participants on new drivers for network deployment, on persisting problems and proposed solutions and on permit-granting procedures.
Commission welcomes agreement on the Connecting Europe Facility to fund greener, more sustainable transport and energy networks, and digitalisation (12/03/2021)
The European Commission welcomes the agreement reached by the European Parliament and the Council on the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) proposal, worth €33.7 billion, as part of the next long-term EU budget 2021-2027.
2030 Digital Compass: Gigabit for everyone, 5G in all populated areas (16/03/2021)
The Commission presented a vision for Europe’s digital transformation by 2030 and sets specific targets in four cardinal points, secure and sustainable digital infrastructures is one of them.
Concretely, by 2030, all European households should be covered by a Gigabit network and all populated areas by 5G. Such excellent and secure connectivity is a prerequisite for a society in which every business and citizen can fully participate. This vision continues on the track set in 2016 by the Commission Communication Towards a European Gigabit society with enhanced level of ambitions for digital.
Summary report - Workshop on Institutional aspects of network deployment (18/03/2021)
This report summarises the informal views expressed by participants on institutional aspects linked to network deployment. Their views were gathered during the online participatory workshop of 22 February 2021 organised as part of the consultation activities foreseen for the review of the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive (BCRD).
Deploying 5G connectivity in the North Sea: Bay of Germany (18/03/2021)
In order to bring significant improvement to the digitalisation of the cargo and cruising industry in the North of Europe, the German regional Broadband Competence Office (BCO) of Lower Saxony launched a mobile connectivity project deploying 5G infrastructure in the Bay of Germany in the North Sea. As Peer Beyersdorff explains in this video, conditions at sea and the Earth’s curvature make mobile telecommunication challenging. The project serves one of the busiest sea routes in the world, enabling safer passage, more reliable communication and important services for both trade and tourism.
Rede Aberta: Spain’s first CEBF-funded broadband project (18/03/2021)
Rede Aberta is the first Spanish broadband project to be funded by the Connecting Europe Broadband Fund (CEBF). To promote economic growth, stop depopulation and rejuvenate the population of rural Galicia, the open access network will bring 10 Gbps symmetrical fibre connectivity to 400,000 homes. In this video, Pere Antentas, Rede Aberta CEO, explains that the project will help the population take advantage of the area’s “enormous growth potential” and natural resources. It “will allow the telecommunication networks and services to be at the same level as the ones in the big cities of Europe”.
Women farmers drive digital transformation in rural areas (18/03/2021)
With 30% of EU farms being managed by women, these farmers are key in driving the digital transformation of rural areas. As explained by Lotta Folkesson, an arable farmer in northern Sweden, high-speed connectivity is needed to allow the use of cutting edge technology in both agriculture and forestry, as well for everyday management. On top of this, it enables entrepreneurship and allows remote area inhabitants to connect with the wider community. “With good infrastructure, we will have a stronger farming community as well as better conditions to attract more people to rural areas”.
WiFi4EU - Free Wi-Fi connectivity across Europe (27/01/2021)
What is WiFi4EU? Where can I find it? What are the benefits of free access to connectivity? Learn more about the initiative in the new WiFi4EU video!
WiFi4EU countries: Hungary (01/02/2021)
Hungary has been awarded 325 WiFi4EU vouchers. Learn more about how free connectivity is benefitting citizens of all ages and contributing to the digitisation of the tourism industry.
WiFi4EU stories: an interview with Mayor of Akranes, Iceland (10/02/2021)
The municipality of Akranes is an Icelandic gem nestled between two fjords. Thanks to WiFi4EU, residents and tourists can enjoy free access to connectivity when admiring the city's main attraction, including the famous Akranes Folk Museum.
Extension of installation period for all WiFi4EU beneficiaries (16/02/2021)
Given the confinement and social distancing measures still in place in several Member States, the European Commission has decided to grant an extension of the installation period to all WIFi4EU beneficiaries in order to allow every concerned municipality to complete their projects.
Multi-orbital secure and resilient space connectivity for EU (24/02/2021)
Commissioner Breton launches work towards a secure space-based connectivity system. The initiative will enhance and connect both current and future critical infrastructures, including terrestrial networks, and provide high-speed broadband and digital services throughout Europe, removing dead zones. The system is to ensure cohesion across Member State territories in an independent and secure way, even in case of failure of other existing systems. The high-end technology, resilient infrastructure, sovereign rules and standards will strengthen Europe’s leading position in the world.
Global environmental monitoring requires good connectivity (24/02/2021)
Copernicus – the EU’s Earth Observation and Monitoring Programme – analyses our planet and its environment for the benefit of European citizens. Large volumes of data flow in from satelites, land and marine systems and provide important insights on weather modelling, climate change and more to both public and private entities, for free. To do this, Copernicus relies heavily on good connectivity, as described by Dr. Fernando Belda-Esplugues in this video.
EU Member States present report of best practices on fast network rollout, a first step towards the Connectivity Toolbox (18/12/2020)
On 18 December, EU Member States presented a report that compiles their proposed best practices for cutting the cost of network rollout and for providing timely access to radio spectrum for 5G. Today’s report marks the first step towards developing the Toolbox of best practices, following the Commission’s Recommendation from September 2020. The report gathers the measures, which Member States reported as the most efficient in those two areas, identifying main trends and providing the finest examples for improving connectivity.
New EU telecom rules: latest actions in time for transposition deadline (21/12/2020)
21 December marked the deadline for Member States to transpose the new EU telecom rules into national law. The European Electronic Communications Code, which entered into force in December 2018, modernises the European regulatory framework for electronic communications, to enhance consumer's choices and rights, ensure higher standards of communication services, as well as boost investment for more connectivity and more digital innovation.
WiFi4EU stories: an interview with Director of Service & Innovation of Reykjavík, Iceland (13/01/2021)
In Reykjavík, capital city of Iceland, WiFi4EU had emerged as perfect complement to the municipality's plan to put "digital first" and connect all residents. The new free Wi-Fi network will also benefit tourists, who will not have to face expensive roaming fees.
Recovery and Resilience Facility template for broadband is published (22/01/2021)
The European Commission has published eleven state aid guiding templates to assist Member States in the design of their national recovery and resilience plans in line with EU State aid rules. The Recovery and Resilience Facility template for broadband (deployment and take-up of fixed and mobile very high capacity networks, including 5G and fibre networks) provides extensive guidance on important matters, including how to design market conform public investment. The Commission will treat measures that do constitute State aid and require individual approval as a matter of priority.
Consultation on an extension of the General Block Exemption Regulation (22/01/2021)
The Commission is consulting Member States on a possible extension of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) to further facilitate the implementation of the InvestEU programme, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, as well as of other EU and national funds targeting the recovery and the achievement of the digital and green objectives of the EU. The GBER declares specific categories of State aid compatible with the Treaty and exempts these categories from the requirement of prior notification and approval by the Commission, so that they can be immediately implemented by Member States.
WiFi4EU stories: an interview with the Mayor of Lapinjärvi, Finland (29/01/2021)
The Finnish municipality of Lapinjärvi has channeled the EUR 15,000 WiFi4EU voucher towards improved services for children and the elderly in order to involve all age groups in the digital transformation.
2021 Work Plan Summary of the European Broadband Competence Offices Network Support Facility (27/01/2021)
2021 is the final year of the first phase of the BCO Network: the European Commission initiative to support Member States to reach the connectivity targets and ensure high-speed broadband access for all citizens. The work plan for this year will seek to reinforce and expand the capacity of European BCOs to meet these objectives, while increasing recognition of their mandate within their national contexts, and strengthening their collaborative relationship with the European Commission.
