Revised guidelines for applying EU state aid rules to the...
Revised guidelines for applying EU state aid rules to the broadband sector got approval from the European Commission Wednesday. The guidelines (http://xrl.us/bn67mg) will help EU countries achieve the goals of the digital agenda by reinforcing open access obligations and improving…
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transparency rules, it said. They follow the principles of the EC’s state aid modernization initiative, which seeks to target well-designed public funding aid at market failures in order to boost growth, it said. The changes focus on several principles and priorities. They take into account technological advances and acknowledge that super-fast, next-generation access networks can be based on different technological platforms. They allow public financing of very fast connections (more than 100 Mbps) in urban areas, subject to very strict conditions aimed at protecting competition. The guidelines also protect private investors by requiring that any publicly financed infrastructure offer a substantial improvement over existing networks, the EC said. They also require that when a network is built with taxpayers’ money, consumers benefit from a truly open network where competition is ensured, it said. The provisions also contain new requirements regarding publication of documents, a centralized database for existing infrastructure and reporting obligations.