The broadband fund set to invest in at least 20 countries by 2021.
The European Commission and the European Investment Bank plan to launch a fund to invest in broadband infrastructure in underserved areas across Europe.
The Connecting Europe Broadband Fund is set to raise at least 500 million euros ($530 million) through commitments from private and public investors, including the EIB and the European Commission. The EC plans to contribute 100 million euros from the Connecting Europe Facility, while three national development banks – Germany’s KfW Bankengruppe, France’s Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and Italy’s Cassa Depositi e Prestiti – have expressed interest in becoming anchor investors.
“High-speed internet is fundamental to the success and development of businesses. Until today, smaller-scale broadband projects did not have easy access to funding and EU financial instruments did not exist,” said EIB President Werner Hoyer. “Consequently, projects in less populated or rural areas where purely private-led initiatives may not see the economic benefits of deploying broadband networks were difficult to implement. The new fund will help bridge this market gap and I am glad that the EU Bank is part of this joint initiative.”
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The Connecting Europe Broadband Fund is looking to to invest in between seven and 12 broadband projects per year from 2017 to 2021. The investments are expected to range from 1 million euros to 30 million euros for projects costing 150 million euros or less in total. Overall, the fund is expected to unlock additional investments between 1 billion euros and 1.7 billion euros in broadband deployment in underserved areas, where high-capacity networks are not yet deployed.
Du tests Nokia’s TWDM-PON technology in the UAE
United Arab Emirates-based telecommunications service provider Du has tested Nokia’s time and wavelength division multiplexing passive optical network fiber technology in its lab, reaching aggregate speeds of 40 gigabits per second.
Nokia’s solution is expected to allow Du to upgrade its existing GPON network with XGS-PON or TWDM-PON on a single fiber. The telco currently offers 1 Gbps services.