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Commission, EIB seek to invest in up to 12 network projects per year until 2021.
The European Commission and European Investment Bank (EIB) on Monday launched a broadband infrastructure fund that aims to raise €500 million for network deployments in underserved areas.
Called the Connecting Europe Broadband Fund, it is one of the first initiatives under the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI), and hopes to attract private and public investors.
The Commission will contribute €100 million from the Connecting Europe Facility, while three national development banks – Germany’s KfW Bankengruppe, France’s Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, and Italy’s Cassa Depositi e Prestiti – have all expressed interest in becoming anchor investors.
"I am grateful to our financial partners for the establishment of this broadband fund. It is an important development for smart and efficient funding of broadband projects, especially in underserved areas," said Günther Oettinger, the EC’s digital economy and society commissioner. "It is a great step towards a European gigabit society for all."
The Commission has set a target of providing 1-Gbps broadband to schools, hospitals, and large businesses, and a minimum of 100-Mbps for all households – which would have to be upgradeable to gigabit broadband – by 2025.
The Connecting Europe Broadband Fund aims to invest in seven-12 broadband projects per year from 2017-2021. The investments will range from €1 million to €30 million, for projects costing €150 million or less in total.
The fund is expected to unlock additional investment of €1 billion-€1.7 billion in broadband deployment in underserved areas lacking very-high-capacity networks. The fund aims to have invested in 20 countries by 2021.
"High-speed Internet is fundamental to the success and development of businesses," said EIB president Werner Hoyer.
"Until today, smaller-scale broadband projects did not have easy access to funding and EU financial instruments did not exist. Consequently, projects in less populated or rural areas, where purely private-led initiatives may not see the economic benefits of deploying broadband networks, were difficult to implement. The new fund will help bridge this market gap, and I am glad that the EU Bank is part of this joint initiative," he said.
The fund is expected to become operational by mid-2017.
