The European Commission has announced a few rather ambitious connectivity targets for 2025.
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that the internet connectivity proposals will encourage funding in high-speed networks and improve public access to WiFi.
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“We need to be connected. Our economy needs it. People need it. And we have to invest in that connectivity now,” Junker said during his State of the Union Address.
The EU is calling for fast public WiFi and 5G along transport routes
The first proposal calls for all “socio/economic drivers” to have access to 1Gbps internet connectivity. So this means schools, universities, transport hubs and public service providers are all included in this category.
The second proposal by Juncker calls for all European households (rural and urban) to have access to connections of at least 100Mbps, which can be upgraded to a gigabit connection.
Finally, the third proposal says that all major roads and railways should have “uninterrupted 5G coverage”. The Commission is aiming for an interim goal of 5G in a major city in each member state by 2020.
A question of cost…
Just how much would these plans cost then? Well, the EU is looking at a figure of roughly €500-billion. Based on current trends, a shortfall of €155-billion was expected.
A proposed European Electronic Communications Code will help make the targets a reality, featuring “forward-looking and simplified” rules. The EU expects the new regulations to make up for the shortfall.
“The investments triggered by the new framework could boost our GDP by an additional €910-billion and create 1.3 million new jobs over the next decade (by 2025),” the Commission claimed.
“In addition to the Code, the Commission also presented an action plan to deploy 5G across the EU as from 2018. This has the potential to create two million jobs in the EU.”
Featured image: Nicolas Nova via Flickr
