The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission today announced a “Connecting Europe Broadband Fund” which will invest in broadband infrastructure projects. The Fund will target smaller-scale, higher-risk projects in underserved rural areas.

The Fund will support the Commission’s aim of establishing very high capacity broadband networks in Europe, expressed in its recent strategy, “Connectivity for a Competitive Digital Single Market – Towards a Gigabit Society”. The Commission’s objective is that all European households should have access to internet connectivity offering at least 100 Mbps by 2025.

The Fund will raise at least €500 million from commitments from investors, not only limited to the EIB and the Commission themselves, but also including National Promotion Banks such as those from France (Caisse des dépôts et consignations), Germany (KfW Bankengruppe) and Italy (Cassa Depositi e Prestiti). Overall, the EIB consider that the Fund will unlock further investments of between €1 billion and  €1.7 billion in broadband infrastructure in underserved areas.

Frontier advises regulators and telecommunications providers on economic and due diligence assessments of broadband markets in Europe.

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