Council of the EU sends proposal for faster construction of gigabit networks

The Council of the European Union has sent a proposal for the accelerated deployment of gigabit networks in the EU to the Commission and Parliament. Now negotiations are starting on the exact text of the law.

The law is named Gigabit Infrastructure Act and it has been developing for a while; the European Commission sent an initial version to the Council in February. The Council, consisting of ministers or state secretaries from all member states, has made various changes. For example, the proposal stated that companies that build gigabit networks must obtain tacit permission for work where possible; that text is now gone.

The intention of the law is to allow companies to install gigabit networks faster and at lower costs. In this way, by 2030, every household in the EU should be able to use the internet with at least 1Gbit/s. This can be via fiber optic or 5G. The law makes this possible by unifying permit rules throughout the EU, making applications easier. Government buildings must also cooperate in installing the necessary infrastructure such as transmission towers. In addition, it relaxes rules regarding cooperation on, for example, transmission towers.

The umbrella organization of providers GSMA is pleased with the proposal, but it does have caveats. For example, the GSMA wants tacit consent to be included in the law to speed up procedures. GSMA also wants the law to be technology neutral and therefore not impose an obligation for certain technologies such as 5G.