Investment and funding needs for the Digital Decade connectivity targets

The EU has established ambitious targets under the Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030 that by 2030 all European households should be served by a Gigabit network, and all populated areas covered by next generation wireless high-speed networks offering performance at least equivalent to that of 5G. Achieving these goals will require substantial investments from the private sector, as well as support from public funding including from EU programmes such as CEF Digital and the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

The study, based on the WIK-Consult’s cost and viability model, estimates that around €114bln in investment will be required to achieve the fixed Gigabit coverage goal using Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP). €33.5bln is estimated to be needed for the provision of “full 5G service” (with additional base stations and small cells, mostly for the mid or high 5G bands). 

The resulting total investment needs to reach the current Digital Decade targets is about €148bln in investment, with an addition of between €26bln and €79bln depending on the deployment mode, for the main transport paths. This makes the overall investment gap reach at least €174 bln, including the public funds that may be required, but more likely beyond €200bln depending on the options considered. It is important to note that, as 2030 approaches, the more intense, industrial use of connectivity for internet 4.0 scenarios, and the increasing security requirements, are likely to push the investment needs much higher.

Read more in the study.