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EU Gigabit Infrastructure Act (GIA)

A closer look at the EU Gigabit Infrastructure Act

Recently, the European Commission published its Gigabit Infrastructure Act (GIA) proposal. The intention: to contribute to deployment of networks that can meet users’ current and future  demands. The EC proposes to support this by facilitating access to network operators’ and public institutions’ physical infrastructure, improving civil works coordination, and uniform, digitally accessible permit procedures.

 

In 2022 the European Parliament stated that the EU's digital infrastructure is in need of “substantial updating, with just 25 % of people in the EU being able to connect to a 5G network, compared to 76 % (…) in the United States”. The parliament also observed that the EU lacks “high-performance digital infrastructure with interoperable data spaces, high transmission rates and volumes, reliability and short delays”.

In 2022, the Commission also launched the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles. This underlines the commitment to a secure, safe, and sustainable digital transformation that puts people at the centre and reflects the EU’s core values and fundamental rights. In February 2023, the Commission presented its 'connectivity package', including the draft Gigabit Infrastructure Act, a draft recommendation to promote Gb connectivity, and an exploratory consultation on the future of electronic communications infrastructure including the network cost contribution debate. The aim of the package is to provide 1 Gb/s connectivity to all citizens and businesses across the EU by 2030. This is in line with the objectives of the EU Digital Decade policy programme 2030, which also targets 5G coverage for all populated areas by 2030.

Recently, policymakers stated that Member States should adopt the relevant standards in cooperation with operators and based on industry best practices. Those standards should easily allow ordinary maintenance activities for the individual fibre wirings used by each operator to provide very high-capacity network services.

If all goes well, the proposal should be adopted by the end of this year, meaning that the regulation would enter into force by June 2024. Several bodies and companies have commented on the proposal and offered suggestions for further refinement.

Prysmian Group supports the GIA as it aims to expedite deployment of VHCNs while reducing associated costs. We also encourage considering some additional following recommendations. For one thing, the use of high-quality components that support robust operations should be promoted. We also feel the GIA should encourage network providers to select components that have a high level of digital security to protect against cyber threats. This is also essential to reinforcing Europe's Technology Autonomy in world full of geopolitical uncertainties. Furthermore, it’s vital to install of the highest possible fibre counts in the available space. The resulting dense and ubiquitous optical network will enable future growth of data-traffic without triggering new and costly civil works, thus ensuring a solid foundation for future network growth and evolution. Possibly the GIA could offer incentives that help optimise Total Cost of Ownership and mandate sustainable construction practices. Furthermore, MEP Alin Mituța, Rapporteur for the Gigabit Infrastructure Act, has mentioned work on non-technical standards such as sustainability criteria which could be incorporated into GIA reporting.

Philippe Vanhille, Executive Vice President Telecom Division at Prysmian Group

About the Gigabit Infrastructure Act

 

The Gigabit Infrastructure Act is intended to facilitate and stimulate the provision of very high-capacity networks by promoting the joint use of existing physical infrastructure and enabling a more efficient deployment of new physical infrastructure, so that such networks can be rolled out faster and at lower cost. The proposal would help infrastructure providers deploy current technology quickly and easily. As it is a directly applicable Regulation as opposed to a Directive, it would be enacted uniformly across the EU.

The GIA key principles and objectives:

Broader scope and access to existing physical infrastructure
ECN operators get the right to access the physical infrastructure of utilities, such as electricity networks, as well as that of other telecoms operators, for the purpose of deploying high-speed broadband (30 Mbps).

Streamlined and accelerated permit granting procedures
Member States are required to make information concerning the conditions and procedures for granting permits for civil engineering works for the deployment of ECN available via a SIP. The GIA act simplifies the licensing/authorisation procedures for the deployment of fast networks. This includes requiring Member States to provide consistent rules governing the conditions and procedures applicable for granting permits, including rights of way, and enabling operators to submit permit applications online.

Transparency
Network operators and public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure are required to publish information about existing and planned physical infrastructure suitable for the deployment of VHCNs via a fully digitised SIP.

Network operators carrying out civil engineering, publicly financed in whole or in part, would have to meet any reasonable written request to coordinate with other operators deploying VHCN or other associated facilities under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms.

Access to in-building physical infrastructure and fibre wiring
The GIA maintains ECN operators' right to access any existing in- building physical infrastructure if duplication is technically impossible or economically inefficient.

About the Gigabit Infrastructure Act

 

The Gigabit Infrastructure Act is intended to facilitate and stimulate the provision of very high-capacity networks by promoting the joint use of existing physical infrastructure and enabling a more efficient deployment of new physical infrastructure, so that such networks can be rolled out faster and at lower cost. The proposal would help infrastructure providers deploy current technology quickly and easily. As it is a directly applicable Regulation as opposed to a Directive, it would be enacted uniformly across the EU.

The GIA key principles and objectives:

Broader scope and access to existing physical infrastructure
ECN operators get the right to access the physical infrastructure of utilities, such as electricity networks, as well as that of other telecoms operators, for the purpose of deploying high-speed broadband (30 Mbps).

Streamlined and accelerated permit granting procedures
Member States are required to make information concerning the conditions and procedures for granting permits for civil engineering works for the deployment of ECN available via a SIP. The GIA act simplifies the licensing/authorisation procedures for the deployment of fast networks. This includes requiring Member States to provide consistent rules governing the conditions and procedures applicable for granting permits, including rights of way, and enabling operators to submit permit applications online.

Transparency
Network operators and public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure are required to publish information about existing and planned physical infrastructure suitable for the deployment of VHCNs via a fully digitised SIP.

Network operators carrying out civil engineering, publicly financed in whole or in part, would have to meet any reasonable written request to coordinate with other operators deploying VHCN or other associated facilities under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms.

Access to in-building physical infrastructure and fibre wiring
The GIA maintains ECN operators' right to access any existing in- building physical infrastructure if duplication is technically impossible or economically inefficient.

“The growth, competitiveness and sustainability of the European economy also depends on investments in telecommunications technologies. The international telecommunication union (ITU)'s analysis of more than 200 studies on broadband impact notes that a 10 % increase in broadband penetration yields an GDP increase of between 0.25 and 1.5 %. Moreover, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that a 10 % increase in broadband penetration can raise labour productivity by 1.5 %. A European Investment Bank study asserts that doubling broadband speeds could result in 0.3 % GDP growth. As far as sustainability is concerned, fixed full-fibre networks (FTTH) and wireless/mobile 5G technologies with cell towers linked to a fibre connection/base (known as backhaul) seem to be the most climate-friendly technologies in terms of reduction of CO2 emissions and energy consumption, when compared with legacy networks (e.g., copper/DSL).”

EU Gigabit Infrastructure Act briefing document