The aim is to provide better speeds for users in rural areas.
The European Commission has approved the new generation of a broadband network in Croatia, which should provide faster internet access where it is currently unavailable, particularly in rural areas. The Commission has established that the program worth 101.4 million euros is in line with EU state aid rules. The new infrastructure will be largely financed by the European Regional Development Fund and partly from national funds, and the network will remain in public ownership, reports Večernji List on June 6, 2017.
“The broadband access program in Croatia will enable faster access to private and business users who do not currently have it, which will help Croatia set up the infrastructure needed for the information society and contribute to the creation of a single digital market in the EU,” said Competition Policy Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
The program will be managed by the Odašiljači I Veze public company (Transmission and Communications), which will offer all interested operators long-term infrastructure leasing contracts. These operators will then be able to provide connectivity services to local access providers. In this way, the new network will support projects that have already been approved in accordance with EU state aid rules.
The current broadband market in Croatia is characterised by high prices and a small number of users compared to the EU average, the Commission says. The aim of this program is to improve the current state of affairs significantly and to help Croatia increase its connectivity and meet the goals set by the Commission.
The previous Croatian broadband access program, approved by the Commission in January 2016, supported the introduction of new networks in areas where the coverage is weak or non-existant. The aim of the new measure is to ensure upstream speeds that will be sufficient for the sustainability of local networks. The program will end on the 31st of December, 2023.
The Commission assessed that the plan is in line with EU state aid rules, particularly with its 2013 broadband guidelines. The aim of these guidelines is to ensure, among other things, that public funding does not take the place of private investment. It ensures that other providers can use publicly funded infrastructure under the same conditions. This protects the effective competition that is the key driver of investment, better pricing, and quality for both private and business users.
The Commission concluded that the positive effects on competition in the Croatian broadband market outweigh the possible adverse effects on already established operators. It has therefore found that the Croatian program complies with EU state aid rules.
As part of its strategy for a single digital market, the Commission wants to encourage the introduction of broadband access, especially in areas of weak coverage, and to ensure a high level of connectivity within the EU. With regard to connectivity, Croatia is at the bottom of all 28 EU member states. According to the Commission's Economic and Social Digitalisation Index, access to broadband networks is available to 60% of Croatian households, compared to an average of 76% in the rest of the EU. On average, only 10% of Croatian households subscribe to them, and the EU average is 37%.
