(6)

in the Annex, the following section is added: ‘SECTION 4. WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES Actions must aim for the provision of local wireless connectivity that is free of charge and without discriminatory conditions in centres of local public life, including outdoor spaces accessible to the general public that play a major role in the public life of local communities, to be eligible for financial assistance. For the purpose of accessibility, those actions shall provide access to services at least in the relevant languages of the Member State concerned and, to the extent possible, in other official languages of the institutions of the Union. Financial assistance shall be available to public sector bodies as defined in point (1) of Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*2), undertaking to provide, in accordance with national law, local wireless connectivity that is free of charge and without discriminatory conditions through the installation of local wireless access points. Actions taken for the provision of local wireless connectivity shall be eligible to receive funding if they: (1) are implemented by a public sector body as referred to in the second paragraph which is capable of planning and supervising the installation, as well as ensuring for a minimum of three years the financing of operating costs, of indoor or outdoor local wireless access points in public spaces; (2) build on high-speed broadband connectivity enabling delivery of high-quality internet experience to users that: (a) is free of charge and without discriminatory conditions, easy to access, secured, and uses most recent and best available equipment, capable of delivering high-speed connectivity to its users; and (b) supports access to innovative digital services, such as those offered via digital service infrastructures; (3) use the common visual identity to be provided by the Commission and link to the associated online tools; (4) respect the principles of technological neutrality at the level of the backhaul, the efficient use of public funding and the ability to adapt projects to the best technological offers; (5) commit to procure the necessary equipment and/or related installation services in accordance with applicable law to ensure that projects do not unduly distort competition. Actions duplicating existing free private or public offers of similar characteristics, including quality, in the same public space shall not be eligible to receive funding. Such duplication may be avoided by ensuring that the range of the access points funded under this Regulation is designed to cover primarily public spaces and not to overlap with that of existing private or public offers of similar characteristics. The available budget shall be allocated in a geographically balanced manner across Member States to actions meeting the conditions set out in this Section in light of the number of proposals received and, in principle, on a “first come, first served” basis. The total allocation of funds under each call shall include all Member States from which eligible proposals are received. Actions financed under this Section shall be in operation and closely monitored by the Commission for at least three years. After the operational period the Commission shall continue to provide an overview of functionality of those actions and possible input for future initiatives. (*2) Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies (OJ L 327, 2.12.2016, p. 1).’."