EU Plans Broadband Push

The European Union's technology chief said she intends to set clear and lasting rules that will ensure financial returns on broadband infrastructure investment and so encourage the bloc's telecommunications companies to build high-speed fiber networks.

Investment in high-speed fiber in the EU has lagged behind other parts of the world, and Commissioner Kroes has been investigating since October what it would take for companies to take the plunge and make the heavy upfront investment needed for fiber networks. Telecom companies have been reluctant to invest without knowing they can recoup the cost. "I want all industry players to receive the signal loud and clear—that they can invest profitably in the future connectivity of Europe, and compete on the basis of their investment," EU Commissioner for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes told reporters. Kroes will present proposals on the matter to her fellow commissioners in the autumn. She said she would produce a package of guidelines to be implemented by national regulators that will apply at least until 2020, and which will focus on three areas. First, providing equivalent, nondiscriminatory access for all operators; second, a recommendation on wholesale access costs; and third, principles for when regulators can intervene.