In early February, the European parliament and Council reached a provisional political agreement on the Gigabit Infrastructure Act (GIA). The long-debated and anticipated legislation has an objective to introduce a set of actions to simplify and speed up the deployment of gigabit networks, such as fibre and 5G to reduce the administrative burden and the costs of deployment. This initiative is aimed at enabling the EU to achieve its connectivity targets, including ensuring 5G coverage in all populated areas by 2030.
The name might differ country-to-country, but the European Digital Decade is the common goal to provide access to fast, reliable and ubiquitous connectivity where it’s needed and when it’s needed by 2030. The full availability of gigabit networks and the rollout of 5G-performant networks in all populated parts, including rural areas and transport corridors, are key elements to support reaching these targets and the continent’s digital transition.
“We strongly welcome that substantial safeguards have been introduced to avoid overregulating the European towerco sector and that all towercos will be subject to the same regulatory treatment in the GIA. Indeed, maintaining a level playing field between towercos is crucial to promote competition on this dynamic and well-functioning market." Christian Hillabrant, CEO of Vantage Towers has commented in a statement published by the company.
Where it (almost) all began
In 2018, The EU introduced the European Electronic Communications Code (The Code) which at the time addressed innovation and upgrade of connectivity networks. As of 2022 The Code was adopted by most EU countries. The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) also developed a number of guidelines, which aimed to promote a consistent application of the Code and contribute to its successful implementation to enable infrastructure upgrade and deployment.
In February 2023, the Commission presented the Gigabit Infrastructure Act - a new initiative aimed to make Gigabit connectivity available to all citizens and businesses across the EU by 2030, in line with the Digital Decade objectives. At time it was a draft Gigabit Recommendation and focused on providing guidance to National regulatory authorities (NRAs) about the conditions for accessing the communications networks of those operators who have significant market power.
In early 2023, the Commission ran a consultation on the future of electronic communications and its infrastructure aiming to gather views on what needed to be addressed so reliable and resilient connectivity becomes a reality across the continent. Towercos, among other digital infrastructure deployers and operators took part and shared their views.
The 437 respondents identified that network virtualisation, open networks, and edge cloud will have the largest impact in the coming years. These technologies are expected to bring about a shift from traditional electronic communications networks to cloud-based, virtualised, software-defined networks, driving down costs and introducing new services, while transforming the ecosystem and business models. In addition, all these highlight the need for better connectivity infrastructure.
Also in 2023, BEREC ran and published a study on the evolution of competition dynamics of towercos and access infrastructure companies. The piece which included responses from NRAs, some of Europe’s large towercos, MNOs and fibre companies, also explored the implications of towerco evolution on market competition and investment in very high-capacity networks. In addition, it presented some areas identified as barriers to infrastructure deployment such as administrative procedures including slow permit application approvals, lack of publication of regular information updates on planned civil works and lack of electronic means for permit applications.
The participants in the study share common challenges about the long timeframes and geographically fragmented regulations in obtaining permits. Often, obtaining permits approvals is slowed down by different regulations on regional and administrative level. And many local authorities in some countries haven’t digitalised their records and work with paper-based systems.
In its present state, The GIA simplifies, and streamlines permit granting procedures. It also introduces measures to digitalise information on existing physical infrastructure, planned civic works, and permit granting procedures, allowing infrastructure deployers to access online all information necessary for planning network deployment.
The new Regulation also seeks to reduce the environmental footprint of electronic communications networks by promoting the deployment of more environmentally efficient technologies, such as fibre and 5G. The re-use of existing physical infrastructure and the greater coordination of civil works will also contribute to reducing the overall environmental impact of deploying networks, through a more efficient use of resources.
"Finally, the fact that The GIA addresses the issue of land aggregation is a very positive development for the towerco industry. This is a first move to make sure that towercos's investments are not targeted at substantial lease price increases for the land but rather at deploying efficiently new infratsrcture 5G connectivity", Hillabrant adds in the same company statement.
What happens next
The agreement that was reached on the GIA has to be formally adopted by the European Parliament and Council. The new rules will be directly applicable in all Member States 18 months after GIA’s entry into force, with certain provisions applying slightly later.
TowerXchange Meetup Europe 2024, taking place on 23-24 April in London will discuss the role of policy in enabling the achievement of European connectivity targets. Join the conference to hear leading towercos and regulatory body representatives discuss the impact of EU policy on the digital infrastructure ecosystem and the relationships between all stakeholders.
