The European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have announced the launch of a new fund designed to boost the amounts invested in broadband network infrastructure across underserved areas of Europe. The Connecting Europe Broadband Fund will lead to an investment platform combining private and public commitments, with three state-backed national lenders – KfW Bankengruppe from Germany, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti from Italy and Caisse des depots et consignations from France – announcing their participation in the initiative as anchor investors.
The joint project intends to bridge the market gap in less populated or rural areas, where smaller-scale broadband initiatives have so far lacked easy access to funding and EU financial instruments. EU digital economy commissioner Gunther Oettinger described the initiative as "a great step towards a European Gigabit Society for all."
The EC said the Connecting Europe Broadband Fund should raise at least EUR 500 million at first closing through commitments from private and public investors, including the EIB and the Commission. The EC itself will invest EUR 100 million into the fund from the Connecting Europe Facility, which will be open to the participation of state lenders. KfW Bankengruppe, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Caisse des depots et consignations, the three largest European national promotional banks and institutions, have already expressed their interest in a possible contribution to the fund, which aims to invest in some 7 to 12 broadband projects each year from 2017 to 2021.
The fund's investments will be of a size between EUR 1 million and EUR 30 million, for projects representing total costs of EUR 150 million or less. Overall, the fund is expected to unlock additional investments between EUR 1 billion and EUR 1.7 billion in broadband deployment in underserved areas, where very high-capacity networks are not yet deployed yet. The fund aims to have invested in 20 countries by 2021, added the EC.
Source: https://www.telecompaper.com/news/ec-launches-eib-backed-broadband-investment-fund--1175760