European member states and other stakeholders have welcomed
new rules for state aid for broadband networks.
The European Commission published the new guidelines last week.
It said it had taken "an overwhelmingly favourable view" towards
state aid for broadband deployment for rural and underserved areas.
But it was "more critical" for state help where a competitive
broadband infrastructure already existed.
The guidelines were to "foster a wide and rapid roll-out of
broadband networks, while at the same time preserving the market
dynamics and competition in a sector that is fully liberalised," it
said.
They would also ensure that if private operators received state
aid they would have to open their publicly funded network to
third-party operators, it said.
The commission said it had earmarked €1.02bn via the European
Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) for developing
broadband internet in rural areas as part of the broader European
economic recovery plan.
States would be able to apply for this money and add it to funds
from local sources to invest in filling in urban "not-spots" and
extending broadband to rural areas, it said.
The guidelines also allowed states to act indirectly to speed up
fibre to the home (FTTH) deployments by ensuring that operators had
fast and easy access to passive network elements such as ducts and
street cabinets, said Karel Helsen, FTTH Council Europe
president.
Helsen said the FTTH Council believed that market forces should
deliver FTTH for the mass market. But it accepted that this would
not work in some areas.
"Local governments and municipalities will have an important
role to play in moving Europe towards a fibre future," he said.