Brussels, 26/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 26 May, the European Commission approved British plans “to support the role-out of high-speed broadband infrastructure, aiming to bring faster Internet to UK consumers and businesses”, according to the Commissioner with responsibility for the dossier, Margrethe Vestager.
This 'National Broadband Scheme' for 2016-2020 was notified on 21 April 2016 and aims to increase high-speed broadband coverage in the United Kingdom, by deploying new generation access networks (NGA) that can ensure speeds above 30 Mb per second. The scheme will allow NGA networks to be rolled out to as many UK homes and businesses as possible.
The Commission noted that the public money will be spent on areas with no service. In order to ensure that public funding does not take the place of private investment, a detailed mapping exercise will be carried out and public consultations will take place with interested private operators. The aid will also be granted through a tendering system, in full respect of the principles of technological neutrality and also facilitating bids by smaller operators, which will ensure the most advantageous offer is selected. All interested operators should be able to access the subsidised infrastructure on fair and non-discriminatory terms.
Various mechanisms are in place to ensure that wholesale access prices are not excessive, which will allow several network operators to obtain wholesale access and to use the subsidised infrastructure to compete on services to the end-user. The increase of the capacity of the network should stimulate the entry of service providers onto the market and support a more varied range of available services. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)