COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION of the State Aid rules for broadband infrastructure deployment
Date: 2021-07-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: Internet, State aid, control of State aid, innovation, new technology, radio telecommunications, regulation of telecommunications, telecommunications industry, transmission network

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 7.7.2021  SWD(2021) 195 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION  of the State Aid rules for broadband infrastructure deployment {SWD(2021) 194 final}  
 
 
Context and objectives 

High  quality  electronic  communications  infrastructure  is  crucial  for  connecting  and 
integrating the Union and its remote regions, allowing all users to have access to private and 
public  electronic  communications  services  contributing  to  social  cohesion  and  supporting  a 
more  competitive  and  sustainable  economy.  Investments  in  electronic  communications 
network  deployment  come  primarily  from  private  operators,  with  public  support 
complementing 
the 
telecommunications  sector  plays  an  important  role  in  developing  a  co-ordinated  investment 
strategy.  

initiatives  where  necessary.  State  aid  control 

these  private 

in 

The  Broadband  Guidelines,  adopted  in  2013,1  and  the  relevant  provisions  of  the  General 
Block  Exemption  Regulation  (GBER)2,  adopted  in  2014,  set  out  specific  criteria  for  the 
allocation of public funds for the pro-competitive infrastructure deployment in areas that need 
it  most.  They  seek  to  ensure  that  public  support  leads  to  modern  infrastructure  increasing 
consumer welfare and reducing the 'digital divide' where commercial operators do not invest, 
while  avoiding  crowding-out  of  private  investments,  subsidising  local  monopolies  or 
discriminating certain technology platforms. 

In view of the very rapid technological developments in the electronic communications sector, 
and  challenges  that  these  entail,  it  has  become  evident  that  it  is  expedient  to  undertake  an 
evaluation.  The  evaluation  assesses  in  particular  the  extent  to  which  the  State  aid  rules  for 
Broadband  are  still  fit  for  purpose,  in  view  of  their  objectives  and  of  developments  in  the 
market,  in  order  to  support  the  new  political  objectives  of  the  Commission3,  including  the 
Europe fit for the digital age4 and the European Green Deal5.  

This  evaluation  aims  to  assess  how  the  Broadband  Guidelines  and  the  corresponding 
provisions of the GBER worked in the past. It establishes what has worked well or less well, 
and  it  compares  actual  performance  to  earlier  expectations.  The  evaluation  examines  the 
application  of  the  Broadband  Guidelines  and  the  corresponding  provisions  of  the  GBER 
against five criteria: effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU added value.  

The findings will serve as a basis for drawing policy conclusions on how well State aid rules 
for the deployment of broadband networks have been performing and whether there is a need 
to  make  any  changes.  The  evaluation  Staff  Working  Document  will  feed  into  the  potential 
revision and update process of the relevant State aid rules. 

Several  external studies  and reports, as well as several public consultation activities support 
the evaluation. Data sources include the State Aid Scoreboard that comprises aid expenditure 
reported  by  Member  States.  In  addition,  among  others,  internal  Commission  data  and  DG 
Competition’s case practice support the assessment.  

1  Communication from the Commission EU Guidelines for the application of State aid rules in relation to the rapid deployment of broadband networks 2013/C 25/01 
2  Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 
of the Treaty Text with EEA relevance, OJ L 187, 26.6.2014. 
3  The Commission published in 2016 the Gigabit Society Communication that sets targets for telecommunications network deployment by 2025 in line with expected use, 
market and technological developments (see https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/communication-connectivity-competitive-digital-single-market-towards-european-

gigabit-society). In March  2021, the Commission presented the EU digital ambitions for Europe’s digital transformation by 2030  where connectivity is one of four cardinal 

points for digital transformation (see https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/communication-digital-compass-2030_en.pdf).  
4  More information available under: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age_en  
5  More information available under: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en  

1 

 
 
                                                           
Main findings 

Overall,  the  analysis  indicates  that  the  State  aid  rules  for  the  deployment  of  broadband 
infrastructure  largely  meet  their  triple  objective  and  hence  are  effective  as  a  State  aid 
architecture.  

The data reported by the Member States to the WIK report and from the public consultation 
demonstrate  that,  compared  to  the  baseline  scenario,  without  the  adoption  of  the  2013 
Broadband  Guidelines  the  deployment  of  broadband  networks  in  line  with  the  EU 
connectivity targets would have likely been constrained. The Broadband Guidelines fostered 
the  alignment  between  concepts  used  for  state  aid  control  purposes  and  their  practical 
implementation by national authorities. Furthermore, the Broadband Guidelines were largely 
effective in protecting competition in the sector. 

The evaluation shows however that there might still be room for a further adjustment of the 
scope and for further improving the rules in the broadband sector in order to best accompany 
the  necessary  investments  in  the  coming  years,  especially  following  the  experience  of  the 
pandemic.   

With  regard  to  efficiency,  the  available  evidence  also  suggests  that  the  rules  on  broadband 
deployment  have  clearly  led  to  more  efficient  State  aid  expenditure.  A  majority  of 
respondents consider that the main principles and concepts of the Broadband Guidelines, such 
as  the  market  failure  approach,  clawback,  the  use  of  existing  infrastructure,  tendering  and 
public  consultation,  wholesale  access  requirements  etc.  have  worked  well.  Complex  and/or 
large  measures  with  potentially  important  effects  in  the  market  are  assessed  by  the 
Commission to ensure that their distortive effects are kept to the minimum and are balanced 
by their positive effects in fulfilling an objective of common interest. As regards the GBER, it 
has  been  increasingly  and  successfully  used,  ensuring  that  manifestly  compatible  measures 
can  be  implemented  by  Member  States  without  prior  examination  by  the  Commission.  By 
comparison to the 2009 Broadband Guidelines, the majority of respondents consider that the 
administrative  burden  and  cost  has  been  reduced.  Such  cost  accounts  for  1-2%  of  allocated 
aid. National authorities could increase efficiencies by following more good practices (i.e. by 
exchanging more information among each other).  

As  to  the  relevance  of  the  rules,  the  evaluation  suggests  that  the  objectives  of  the  rules  on 
broadband deployment have been to a large extent appropriate for meeting the needs within 
the  EU  so  far.  However,  they  do  not  seem  fully  relevant  to  meet  the  technological 
developments in the electronic communications sector and connectivity needs accentuated by 
the Covid-19 pandemic. The evaluation suggests that State aid rules do not fully reflect more 
recent  EU  policy  developments  and  Commission  priorities  for  the  future,  in  particular  the 
updated  EU  connectivity  objectives  but  also  the  Green  Deal  ambitions.  The  current  and 
expected  very  high  speeds  and  significant  qualitative  characteristics  of  broadband 
infrastructure  are  likely  to  have  an  impact  on  the  fine  balance  to  be  struck  between 
intervening with public funds in order to provide significantly more performant infrastructure 
to  end-users  and  protecting  existing  or  planned  investment.  As  services  develop  and  are 
broadly used, the need and demand for high quality broadband infrastructure will rise, fully in 
line  with  EU  policy  objectives  for  the  digital  transformation.  In  this  context,  it  will  be 
important to ensure that State aid guidelines for broadband are fit for purpose and able to cater 
for current and future technologies and challenges. 

2 

 
 
As regards internal coherence, it appears that the various provisions of the Guidelines or the 
GBER on broadband deployment are coherent among themselves and operate well together to 
achieve the objectives. 

With regard to external coherence, the analysis suggests that the State aid rules on broadband 
deployment are to a certain extent coherent with other EU policies and legislation. It appears 
however  that  the  rules  do  not  always  reflect  more  recent  legislative  developments  that 
occurred  after  their  adoption.  In  particular,  the  Broadband  Guidelines  do  not  fully  mirror 
certain  provisions  of  the  Gigabit  Communication,  the  Broadband  Cost  Reduction  Directive 
and the European Electronic Communications Code. 

Overall,  the  Broadband  Guidelines  and  corresponding  provisions  of  the  GBER  have  a  clear 
EU added value that is acknowledged by stakeholders as they reduce administrative burden 
and provide clarity, stability and predictability. 

The  assessment  of  the  current  State  aid  rules  for  the  deployment  of  broadband  networks 
suggests that, overall, the rules are fit for purpose.  

However, the evaluation also shows that some targeted adjustments are needed. In particular, 
the  Broadband  Guidelines  should  be  adapted  to  reflect  recent  legislative  developments, 
current  priorities,  as  well  as  market  and  technology  developments.  The  evaluation  also 
indicated room for further clarification of the rules.   

3