The European Commission has issued a new recommendation calling on the EU states to invest in very high-capacity broadband infrastructure, including 5G networks. This is part of the 'Digital Decade' agenda outlined by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her recent State of the Union address.
The coronavirus crisis has underlined the importance of broadband and the need for further digital transformation. A timely roll-out of 5G networks is also expected to contribute to developing long-term economic opportunities, while supporting European competitiveness and sustainability, the Commission said in a statement.
The Commission's recommendation invites the EU states to identify and share by 20 December their best practices for broadband development. By the end of March 2021, they are expected to agree on a 'tool box' of the best practices to be adopted across the EU. This is expected to support the timely roll-out of fixed and mobile very high-capacity networks, including 5G networks.
The aims is to reduce the cost and increase the speed of network deployment, notably by removing unnecessary administrative hurdles; provide timely access to 5G spectrum and encourage operator investment in expanding network infrastructure; and establish more cross-border coordination for spectrum assignments in order to support innovative 5G services, particularly in the industry and transport fields.
5G roll-out and security
The recommendation also sets out guidance for best practices for allocating 5G spectrum efficiently and ensuring stronger coordination of spectrum for 5G cross-border applications. This comes as many countries have seen delays in spectrum auctions due to the Covid-19 outbreak. As of mid-September 2020, the EU countries had assigned on average only 27.5 percent of the 5G pioneer bands.
The recommendation also underlines the need to ensure that 5G networks are secure and resilient. This follows the earlier development of a tool box on addressing security risks to 5G networks, on which a progress report was published in July.
In addition, it builds on the EU's Broadband Cost Reduction Directive of 2014, which promotes measures to reduce network deployment costs and simplify permits and construction. The EU states should share and agree on best practices under this directive, such as ways to simplify permit-granting procedures for civil works; improving access to informationon available networks to support infrastructure sharing and construction coordination; expanding telecom operators' rights to access existing infrastructure controlled by public sector bodies for netywork installation and providing a dispute resolution mechanism to resolve access disputes.
Supercomputing push
The other major element of digital policy unveiled in Von der Leyen's speech was a renewed push into super-computing. The Commission has proposed a new regulation to support the EU states' cooperation on developing a leading role in supercomputing and quantum computing. It will support research and innovation activities for new supercomputing technologies, systems and products, as well as foster the necessary skills to use the infrastructure. The proposal would enable an investment of EUR 8 billion in the next generation of supercomputers.
