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Public consultation on the review of the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive

The Broadband Cost Reduction Directive aims to facilitate and incentivise the roll-out of high-speed electronic communications networks by lowering the costs of deployment with a set of harmonised measures. This public consultation aims to gather stakeholders’ views and inputs on the implementation of the Directive to support the analysis of the backward-looking evaluation as well as to support forward-looking policy options.

Have you benefited from the rules aiming at reusing existing physical infrastructure or coordinating civil works? Are you subject to any of the obligations derived from the Directive? Do you have a view on how to improve the efficiency of the deployment of telecoms networks or how to make them more sustainable?

Participate in the Commission public consultation on the evaluation and review of the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive!

The Commission is carrying out an evaluation of the current measures under the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive and an impact assessment of a new Commission legislative proposal. In this context, this public consultation has the objective of gathering stakeholders’ views and inputs on the implementation of the Directive to support the analysis of the backward-looking evaluation as well as to support forward-looking policy options.

The evidence gathered so far by the Commission, including the report on the implementation of the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive and the continuous monitoring of its implementation in the Member States, gives rise to the need for the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive to be evaluated and possibly revised. At the same time, the revised instrument should adapt to recent and current technological, market and regulatory developments and help foster a more efficient and fast deployment of more sustainable very high capacity networks, including fibre and 5G, ensuring alignment with the European Electronic Communications Code and contributing to greening the Information and Communication Technology sector as part of the European Green Deal.

The Commission published an inception impact assessment on 19 June 2020, informing citizens and stakeholders about the Commission's plans to review the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive.

The public consultation is open from 02 December to 02 March 2021. Responses received after the closing date will not be considered. Earlier responses are encouraged.

Views are sought from electronic communications operators, other network operators, physical infrastructure operators as well as their respective associations, national authorities dealing with the tasks established in the Directive (permit granting, dispute resolution, single information point, etc.), citizens, consumer associations, civil society organisations, businesses and experts. Please state whether you are responding as an individual or representing the views of an organisation. We ask responding organisations to register in the Transparency Register.

Respond online

When responding online you may pause at any time and continue later. You can download a copy of your contribution once you have sent it.

Only responses received through the online questionnaire will be taken into account and included in the report summarising the responses, exception being made for the visually impaired.

Reply to the survey

Background

The review of the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive is part of the actions announced in the Commission 2020 Work Programme and in the Communication on Shaping Europe’s Digital Future, which stressed that, for digital infrastructure and networks alone, the EU has an investment gap of EUR 65 billion per year. Moreover, adequate investments at EU, national and regional levels are necessary to achieve the EU 2025 connectivity objectives and a Gigabit Society in Europe.

The Commission is organising an online workshop on network deployment drivers, challenges and solutions on 27 January 2020. 

Join the workshop

Accessibility for the visually impaired

We shall accept questionnaires by email or post in paper format from the visually impaired and their representative organisations.

If you are visually impaired, you can e-mail us at mail CNECT-B1-BCRD@ec.europa.eu and attach your reply as Word, PDF or ODF document or write to:

European Commission

DG Communication networks, content & technology

Unit B.1, Electronic Communications Policy

Avenue de Beaulieu 33, 06/57

1160 Brussels

Belgium

Replies & feedback

For transparency purposes, all the responses to the present consultation will be made public.

Please read the Specific Privacy Statement and the legal notice on Personal Data Protection on how we deal with your personal data and contribution.

A summary of the results of the consultation will be published on this page one month after the consultation closes. On the basis of the responses received to the public consultation and the feedback received through other consultation activities, the Commission will prepare the evaluation, impact assessment as well as the new legislative proposal.