The European Commission is to propose investing €9.2bn (£8bn) in a widespread roll-out of broadband infrastructure and services across the European Union in a bid to spur further investment in rural broadband.
The plan is to get all European households up to 30Mbps by 2020, with half the population up to 100Mbps to make sure the continent remains competitive in the digital landscape. The investment would need to be approved by the European Parliament and the EU’s Council of Ministers before being put into practice – but the idea is that it would stimulate a further €50 billion investment from the private sector alongside national and local governments.
The plan would work alongside the tough stick proposed by European Digital Agenda Commissioner, Neelie Kroes, who has threatened to cut the earnings of leading operators such as Deutsche Telekom, France Télécom, and BT on their older networks if they do not pay their part the the upgrades.
[via BBC]