06 February, 2024

ETNO statement on the Gigabit Infrastructure Act negotiations

Brussels, 6 February 2024 – ETNO, the Association representing Europe’s leading telecom operators, acknowledges the efforts of the European Commission, Parliament and Council in achieving a political agreement on the Gigabit Infrastructure Act before the end of the mandate. The result of the political negotiations departs from the original level of ambition as set out by the European Commission.

We note the dilution of crucial measures to reduce timing and cost of roll-out. These include the so called “tacit approval”, which is now only an optionality for Member States, leading to potential fragmentation in the single market. Ambitious proposals by the European Commission and the European Parliament would have better responded to the urgency of rolling out gigabit networks.

We also take note that further retail price regulation of intra-EU calls is still on the table, subject to prior Impact Assessment. We encourage a thorough assessment, conducted in full respect of the Better Regulation principles, recognizing the existence of competitive markets as well as the socio-economic value of network deployment.

Reaching all European citizens with gigabit networks is key to socio-economic inclusion and, as per official figures, this requires a €200bn effort by the end of this decade. We believe that truly game changing rules are still required, as we wait for the upcoming European Commission work on the “Connectivity Package on digital networks and infrastructure”.