European Broadband Awards archive

European Broadband Awards 2023

The application deadline for the 2023 awards was 15 September. After thorough review, the jury selected 14 finalists that made a difference in providing Europe with broadband internet. The five winners were announced and received the EU Broadband Awards at an Award Ceremony on 21 November 2023 in Brussels. The finalists and winners will be showcased by the European Commission at events, in the media and websites.

Check the brochure presenting the 14 finalist and winner projects that excelled in providing broadband connectivity and demonstrate good practices that can serve as valuable models for other projects to learn from and replicate across Europe. Download the application form, the guide for applicants and check further details on the award categories.

European Broadband Awards 2022

The application deadline was 31 January 2022. The projects applying for the European Broadband Awards were assessed by a jury composed of five experts with comprehensive experience in broadband. The jury pre-selected 16 best projects for the finals. The winners of the European Broadband Awards 2022 were announced and awarded by the European Commission at the Award Ceremony on 27 September 2022. A brochure Broadband Good Practices 2022 introducing the finalists and winners is now available.

Category 1. Innovative models of financing, business and investment. The finalists that applied effective and innovative financing, business or investment models were chosen this category.

• Winner of Category 1: High speed broadband for all in Yvelines, France
• Winner of the Jury Award: BROADEN - Broadband Across Border Sweden-Norway, Sweden & Norway
• Lower Austria - a holistic solution to supply the entire rural area with sustainable FTTH, Austria
• Private Public Partnership for an area-wide Broadband Expansion Program with FTTH in the Stuttgart Region, Germany

Category 2. Cost reduction measures and co-investment. The category was addressed to projects that applied measures exploiting the synergies between different infrastructures and strived for cooperation among relevant stakeholders in building and investing in infrastructure, including cross-border/multi country projects.

• Winner of Category 2: Digital Nord Pas-de-Calais, France
• Nordeste de Segovia (Nordesnet), Spain
• WEMACOM Breitband, Germany

Category 3. Socio-economic impact in rural and remote areas. Finalists in this category have direct and indirect socio-economic impacts and substantially improved connections to and in the remote and rural areas.

• Winner of Category 3: Broadband Director Plan of Navarre 2016 – 2021, Spain
• Erro Smart Valley, Spain
• Broadband expanse in North Hesse, Breitband Nordhessen, Germany

Category 4. Demand generation and take-up of connectivity. The finalists that implemented measures stimulating the demand side and increasing the take-up of a wide range of fixed and/or wireless/mobile, including 5G, services and applicationswere selected in this category.

• Winner of Category 4: FTTB build up for everyone in Liechtenstein, Liechtenstein
• Winner of the Jury Award: EllaLink, Ireland
• Wholesale Model - new approach & possibilities, Poland

Category 5. Quality and affordability of services. The category was addressed to projects focusing on providing high quality and affordable services for end-users.

• Winner of Category 5 (1): Broadband Deployment Project Sankt Nikolai im Sausal, Austria
• Winner of Category 5 (2): Breitbandausbau im Landkreis Bautzen, Germany
• FTTH network roll-out, Latvia

The highest number of applications came from Germany, Austria and Spain. Category 3, “Socio-economic impact in rural and remote areas”, was the most frequently selected by the applicants.

European Broadband Awards 2019

Projects from all over Europe have applied for the European Broadband Awards 2019. The Jury assessed the projects and selected the 15 finalists and the 5 winners. The winners were announced and awarded in the Broadband Awards ceremony (2 Dec 2019). Winning projects were also presented in the Broadband Day Conference in Brussels (3 Dec 2019). The winners were featured in the newsletters as well as in a number of events across Europe.

European Broadband Awards 2018

The deadline for submitting projects was 7 September 2018. Projects from all over Europe applied. The jury of broadband experts selected 15 finalists, and out of them, the five winners:

• Michaelston-y-Fedw Internet Community Interest Company, UK (Category 1: Innovative models of financing, business and investment),
• Welcoming Sunne to the Network of the Future, Sweden (Category 2: Cost reduction and co-investment in a future proof infrastructure),
• Poland enters gigabit society, Poland (Category 3: Territorial cohesion in rural and remote areas),
• Broadband for "Mand-ø" – Connecting the UNESCO world heritage “Wadden Sea”, Denmark (Category 4: Socio-economic impact and affordability),
• Val d'Oise Ultra-Fast Broadband Project: Debitex and Vortex, France (Category 5: Openness and competition).

The winners were announced and awarded at the ceremony on 19 November 2018 and presented their projects at the Broadband Day in Brussels on 20 November 2018. Check the video from the Award Ceremony. The video interviews with the five winners of the 2018 awards are available online. For reference only, the application form and the guide for applicants are available for download.

European Broadband Awards 2017

49 projects applied by the deadline of 7 September 2017. The projects were assessed by a jury of broadband experts, who selected the 15 finalists and the five winners. The European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Crețu and Commissioner for Agriculture & Rural Development, Phil Hogan awarded the winners at the Award Ceremony on 20 November 2017 and their projects were showcased at the Broadband Days in Brussels. The video interviews with the five winners are available online.

European Broadband Awards 2016

Günther H. Oettinger, Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, awarded the five winners during the B-DAY: Going Giga event that took place on 14-15 November 2016 in Brussels. The video interviews with the five winners are available online. More than 60 projects had applied for the European Broadband Awards 2016. The projects were assessed by a jury composed of five experts in broadband. The jury selected sixteen finalists and five winners. For more details on procedures please check the guide for applicants.

European Broadband Awards 2015

48 candidate projects applied for the awards. The jury selected five winners. The promotional video explains the concept of the European Broadband Award 2015.