Presenting an economic recovery plan for the EU, Commission President José Manuel Barroso suggested triggering production and consumption in Europe by increasing public investment in key infrastructure. Of the €5 billion that the Commission intends to use to achieve this aim, €1 billion will be directed at broadband networks. The other four will be spent on energy interconnections.
If given a green light by the European Parliament and member states, the funding will be spent in 2009 and 2010. It comes from reserves of the EU budget which have not been used. The Commission hopes that the extra public money could spur private investment, deemed necessary to upgrade current internet connections.
This is the first time that Brussels has singled out a specific figure to be spent exclusively on broadband. At the moment, member states can choose whether to use their structural funds for broadband, but they are not obliged to. Consulting firm McKinsey reckons another €300 billion of overall investment is required (see background).
The industry welcomed the Commission's fresh commitment to broadband but many regretted that today's crucial Telecoms Council (27 November) will not propose to review rules to facilitate building new networks in its overall reform of the telecoms sector.
Telecoms ministers are instead set to approve a text based on the original proposal from the Commission, which did not include references to new infrastructure: so-called Next Generation Networks (NGNs). Amendments by the Parliament, widely referring to NGN policies, will not be taken into consideration (EurActiv 17/11/08).
The Council will only discuss future networks in a separate debate regarding a different Commission proposal, which is still at the first stage of the legislative process. Many are concerned that, by not including NGNs in the telecoms package immediately, the topic will be postponed even further, delaying private investment and running contrary to the urgency highlighted by the Commission in its recovery plan.
The gap between the national and Commission positions in terms of broadband is not limited to NGNs. The Council does not share the bold objective of reaching a broadband-for-all target by 2010, as proposed again by the EU executive in its recovery plan (EurActiv 17/03/08).
Moreover, ministers do not agree with the radio spectrum "revolution" called for by the Commission to exploit the digital dividend. The Council will today reject Brussels' proposals and instead adopt a rather conservative line in support of the current primary holders of frequencies: broadcasters. The Commission pushed instead for reallocation in favour of internet providers as means of exploiting the digital dividend to tackle the digital divide.
