Directive 2014/61 - Measures to reduce the cost of deploying high-speed electronic communications networks - Main contents

SUMMARY OF:

Directive 2014/61/EU on measures to reduce the cost of deploying high-speed electronic communications networks

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DIRECTIVE?

• - 

  It aims to facilitate and promote the roll-out of high-speed electronic communications networks (ECN) (i.e. fast broadband internet with speeds above 30 Mbps) in the EU. The major obstacle is a financial one, as the costs for deploying physical infrastructure account for up to 80% of the total costs (e.g. digging up roads to lay down fibre broadband).
• - 

  Broadly speaking, 4 approaches are offered:

  • - 

    promoting the reuse of existing physical infrastructure;
  • - 

    creating the conditions for coordinating civil works and more efficiently installing new physical infrastructure;
  • - 

    equipping newly constructed and majorly renovated buildings with physical infrastructure; and
  • - 

    streamlining the procedures for granting permits for civil works.

KEY POINTS

The main pillars of the directive are as follows.

1.

Access to existing physical infrastructure

• - 

  EU countries should ensure that network operators* (telecoms, as well as energy, transport and water) give telecoms operators access to their physical infrastructure.
• - 

  Network operators are required to give access to their physical infrastructure, on reasonable terms and conditions, including price.

2.

Coordination of civil works

• - 

  EU countries should ensure that network operators negotiate agreements with telecoms operators in order to coordinate civil works.
• - 

  If this work is financed from the public purse, network operators have to meet any reasonable and timely request for coordination as long as this will not entail any additional costs and will not impede coordination control. This implies that any incremental costs associated with co-deployment must be recovered, or else the request could be denied.
• - 

  For negotiating agreement on the coordination of civil works, EU countries shall require any network operator to make available, upon the request of a provider of public communications networks, certain minimum information concerning ongoing or planned civil works: (a) the location and the type of works; (b) the network elements involved; (c) the estimated date for starting the works and their duration; and (d) a contact point.

3.

Transparency

In order to improve the deployment process, EU countries must ensure that the undertakings deploying ECN have access to a minimum amount of information about the existing physical infrastructure, such as:

• - 

  location and route,
• - 

  type/use of infrastructure,
• - 

  a contact point.

Providing such information will ensure that the costs of these projects are kept to a minimum (for example by accessing physical infrastructure that already exists and by coordinating engineering works). The access to this minimum information may be limited for the following reasons:

• - 

  security of the networks and their integrity;
• - 

  national security;
• - 

  public health or safety; and
• - 

  confidentiality or operating and business secrets.

Permit granting

• - 

  EU countries have to ensure that all relevant information concerning conditions and procedures for granting permits for civil works needed for the deployment of ECN must be available via a single information point.
• - 

  EU countries may allow permit applications to be submitted electronically.
• - 

  Permit decisions should be made within 4 months and any refusal to grant a permit should be fully justified.

Buildings ready to deploy high-speed networks

• - 

  New buildings and major renovations must be equipped with physical infrastructure (such as mini-ducts) capable of hosting high-speed ECN. Constructions must have an access point and be easily accessible by the providers of public communications networks. This must be done in a technology-neutral way (i.e. the infrastructure should neither require nor assume a particular technology). Exemptions are possible (for example for monuments or holiday houses).
• - 

  The providers have the right to reach the access point under fair and non-discriminatory terms and conditions.

Out-of-court procedures

EU countries must put in place out-of-court procedures for the timely resolution of disputes arising from the application of the directive.

Penalties

EU countries must lay down rules on penalties in case of non compliance with the national measures adopted pursuant to this directive. The penalties provided shall be appropriate, effective, proportionate, and dissuasive.

Recommendation on toolbox to aid economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis

In September 2020, the European Commission adopted a recommendation providing guidance to EU countries on how to develop and agree, by 30 March 2021, a toolbox of common best practices to facilitate the deployment of very-high-capacity fixed and wireless networks by removing unnecessary administrative hurdles, and by the coordinated assignment of radio spectrum for the fifth-generation (5G) networks under investment-friendly conditions, in particular for industrial cross-border cases. Consequently, EU countries should communicate an implementation roadmap (30 April 2021) to the Commission and should report on the toolbox’s implementation (30 April 2022).

FROM WHEN DOES THE DIRECTIVE APPLY?

It had to become law in the EU countries by 1 January 2016 and the rules had to be applied as of 1 July 2016.

The Commission is currently reviewing this directive, as was announced in the communication on shaping Europe’s digital future.

BACKGROUND

For further information, see:

• - 

  Shaping Europe’s digital future (European Commission).

KEY TERMS

Network operators: providers of public communications networks, but also utilities, be it for energy, public heating, water, waste water or transport.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Directive 2014/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on measures to reduce the cost of deploying high-speed electronic communications networks (OJ L 155, 23.5.2014, pp. 1-14)

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Commission Recommendation (EU) 2020/1307 of 18 September 2020 on a common Union toolbox for reducing the cost of deploying very high capacity networks and ensuring timely and investment-friendly access to 5G radio spectrum, to foster connectivity in support of economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis in the Union (OJ L 305, 21.9.2020, pp. 33-41)

last update 25.11.2020

This summary has been adopted from EUR-Lex.