Policy Topics
Broadband State Aid
Crowding in private investment into European broadband networks requires public funds to be deployed in situations of market failure only.
broadband state aid
Legal certainty needed for private infrastructure investments
As new public funds become available for connectivity under the European Recovery Fund and other EU and national public sources, state aid guidelines are an essential tool for creating legal certainty around private infrastructure investments.
Sustainable infrastructure competition is retained when deployment of public funds does not crowd out future private investment or undermine the return on long-term investment in existing very high capacity networks and 5G.
As the current EU Broadband State Aid Guidelines are being evaluated, GIGAEurope believes that:
- The current Broadband State Aid regime has worked well as it supports the use of public funds only in cases of market failure, where there is no prospect of private investment in broadband deployment.
- Private investment into very high capacity networks complemented by transparent, proportionate and very targeted state aid will lead to the most sustainable and rapid outcome in terms of wide availability of Gigabit connectivity in line with the 2030 connectivity goals, whilst unnecessary pressure on public spending is avoided.