Article 1 Subject matter and scope
1. This Regulation aims to facilitate and stimulate the roll-out of very high capacity networks (‘VHCNs’) by promoting the joint use of existing physical infrastructure and by enabling a more efficient deployment of new physical infrastructure so that such networks can be rolled out faster and at a lower cost. 2. If any provision of this Regulation conflicts with a provision of Directive 2002/77/EC, (EU) 2018/1972 or (EU) 2022/2555, the relevant provision of those Directives shall prevail. 3. This Regulation sets minimum requirements for achieving the aims set out in paragraph 1. Member States may maintain or introduce measures in conformity with Union law which are stricter or more detailed than those minimum requirements, where the measures serve to promote the joint use of existing physical infrastructure or enable a more efficient deployment of new physical infrastructure. 4. By way of derogation from paragraph 3 of this Article, Member States shall not maintain or introduce the measures referred to in that paragraph in respect of Article 3(5), first subparagraph, points (a) to (e), Article 3(7) and (10), Article 4(7), Article 5(2), second subparagraph, Articles 5(5)and 6(2) and Article 10(7) and (8). 5. This Regulation is without prejudice to Member States’ responsibility for safeguarding national security and their power to safeguard other essential State functions, including ensuring the territorial integrity of the State and maintaining law and order.
Article 2 Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions set out in Directive (EU) 2018/1972 apply, in particular the definitions of ‘electronic communications network’, ‘very high capacity network’, ‘public electronic communications network’, ‘network termination point’, ‘associated facilities’, ‘end-user’, ‘security of networks and services’, ‘access’, and ‘operator’. The following definitions also apply: (1) ‘network operator’ means: (a) an operator as defined in Article 2, point (29), of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (b) an undertaking providing a physical infrastructure intended to provide: (i) a service of production, transport or distribution of: — gas, — electricity, including public lighting, — heating, — water, including disposal or treatment of wastewater and sewage, and drainage systems; (ii) transport services, including railways, roads including urban roads, tunnels, ports and airports; (2) ‘body governed by public law’ means a body that has all of the following characteristics: (a) it is established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character; (b) it has legal personality; (c) it is financed, in full or for the most part, by state, regional or local authorities or by other bodies governed by public law or is subject to management supervision by those authorities or bodies; or has an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by state, regional or local authorities or by other bodies governed by public law; (3) ‘public sector body’ means a state, regional or local authority, a body governed by public law or an association formed by one or more such authorities or one or more such bodies governed by public law; (4) ‘physical infrastructure’ means: (a) any element of a network that is intended to host other elements of a network without becoming an active element of the network itself, such as pipes, masts, ducts, inspection chambers, manholes, cabinets, antenna installations, towers and poles, as well as buildings including their rooftops and parts of their facades or entries to buildings, and any other asset, including street furniture such as light poles, street signs, traffic lights, billboards and toll frames, as well as bus and tramway stops and metro and railway stations; (b) where not part of a network and owned or controlled by public sector bodies: buildings including their rooftops and parts of their facades or entries to buildings, and any other asset, including street furniture such as light poles, street signs, traffic lights, billboards and toll frames, as well as bus and tramway stops and metro and railway stations. Cables, including dark fibre, as well as elements of networks used for the provision of water intended for human consumption as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive (EU) 2020/2184 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 21 ) are not physical infrastructure within the meaning of this Regulation; (5) ‘civil works’ means every outcome of building or civil engineering works taken as a whole that is sufficient in itself to fulfil an economic or technical function and entails one or more elements of a physical infrastructure; (6) ‘in-building physical infrastructure’ means physical infrastructure or installations at the end user’s location, including elements under joint ownership, intended to host wired and/or wireless access networks, where such access networks are capable of delivering electronic communications services and connecting the building access point with the network termination point; (7) ‘in-building fibre wiring’ means optical fibre cables at the end user’s location, including elements under joint ownership, intended to deliver electronic communications services and connecting the building access point with the network termination point; (8) ‘fibre-ready in-building physical infrastructure’ means in-building physical infrastructure intended to host optical fibre elements; (9) ‘major renovation works’ means civil works at the end user’s location that encompass structural modifications of the entire in-building physical infrastructure or a significant part thereof and that require, in accordance with national law, a building permit; (10) ‘permit’ means an explicit or implicit decision or set of decisions taken simultaneously or successively by one or more competent authorities that are required under national law for an undertaking to carry out building or civil works necessary for the deployment of elements of VHCNs; (11) ‘access point’ means a physical point, located inside or outside the building, accessible to undertakings that provide or that are authorised to provide public electronic communications networks, where connection to the fibre-ready in-building physical infrastructure is made available; (12) ‘rights of way’ means rights referred to in Article 43(1) of Directive (EU) 2018/1972, granted to an operator to install facilities on, over or under public or private property to deploy VHCNs and associated facilities.
Article 3 Access to existing physical infrastructure
1. Network operators and public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure shall meet, upon written request of an operator, all reasonable requests for access to that physical infrastructure under fair and reasonable terms and conditions, including price, with a view to deploying elements of VHCNs or associated facilities. Public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure shall meet all such reasonable requests also under non-discriminatory terms and conditions. Such written requests shall specify the elements of the physical infrastructure for which the access is requested, including a specific time frame. Member States may specify detailed requirements relating to the administrative aspects of the requests. 2. Upon request of an operator, legal persons who are primarily active as tenants of land, or as holders of rights over land, other than property rights, on which facilities are planned to be or have been installed with a view to deploying elements of VHCNs, or who manage lease contracts on behalf of land owners, and operators shall negotiate access to such land in good faith, including on the price, which where appropriate shall reflect market conditions, in accordance with national contract law. Operators and legal persons referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall inform the national regulatory authority of the conclusion of agreements reached in accordance with the first subparagraph, including the agreed price. Member States may provide guidance on the terms and conditions, including the price, in order to facilitate the conclusion of such agreements. 3. Member States may provide that owners of private commercial buildings which are not owned or controlled by a network operator are to meet, upon the written request of an operator, reasonable requests for access to those buildings, including their rooftops, with a view to installing elements of VHCNs or associated facilities under fair and reasonable terms and conditions, and at a price reflecting market conditions. Prior to such a request from the access seeker all of the following conditions shall be met: (a) the building is located in a rural or remote area as defined by Member States; (b) there is no VHCN of the same type — fixed or mobile — as that the access seeker intends to deploy available in the area for which the request for access is made, and there is no plan to deploy such a network according to the information collected via the single information point available at the date of the request, (c) there is no physical infrastructure in the area for which the request for access is made that is owned or controlled by network operators or public sector bodies and is technically suitable to host elements of VHCNs. Member States may determine a list of categories of commercial buildings that may be exempt from the obligation to meet such an access request, for reasons of public security, defence, safety and health. That list and the criteria to be applied to identify those categories shall be published via a single information point. 4. When determining fair and reasonable terms and conditions, including prices, for granting access, and in order to avoid excessive prices, network operators and public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure shall, where relevant, take into account at least the following: (a) existing contracts and commercial terms and conditions agreed between operators seeking access and network operators or public sector bodies granting access to physical infrastructure; (b) the need to ensure that the access provider has a fair opportunity to recover the costs it incurs in order to provide access to its physical infrastructure, taking into account specific national conditions, business models, and any tariff structures put in place to provide a fair opportunity for cost recovery; in the case of electronic communications networks, any remedies imposed by a national regulatory authority are also to be taken into account; (c) any additional maintenance and adaptation costs resulting from providing access to the relevant physical infrastructure; (d) the impact of the requested access on the access provider’s business plan, including investments in the physical infrastructure to which the access has been requested; (e) in the specific case of access to physical infrastructure of operators, any relevant guidance pursuant to paragraph 13, and in particular: (i) the economic viability of those investments based on their risk profile; (ii) the need for a fair return on investment and for any time schedule for such return on investment; (iii) any impact of access on downstream competition and consequently on prices and return on investment; (iv) any depreciation of the network assets at the time of the access request; (v) any business case underpinning the investment at the time it was made, in particular investment in the physical infrastructure used for the provision of connectivity; and (vi) any possibility previously offered to the access seeker to co-invest in the deployment of the physical infrastructure, notably pursuant to Article 76 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972, or to co-deploy alongside it; (f) when considering the operators’ need for a fair return on investment which reflects the relevant market conditions, their different business models, in particular in the case of undertakings that primarily provide associated facilities and offer physical access to more than one undertaking that provides, or that is authorised to provide, public electronic communications networks. 5. Network operators and public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure may refuse access to specific physical infrastructure on the basis of one or more of the following grounds: (a) the physical infrastructure to which access has been requested is not technically suitable to host any of the elements of VHCN referred to in paragraph 1; (b) there is a lack of availability of space to host the elements of VHCNs or associated facilities referred to in paragraph 1, including after taking into account the future need for space of the access provider that is sufficiently demonstrated, such as by referring to publicly available investments plans or to a consistently applied percentage for the capacity reserved for future needs, compared to the entire capacity of the physical infrastructure; (c) the existence of justified reasons regarding safety, national security and public health; (d) the existence of duly justified reasons regarding the integrity and security of any network, in particular national critical infrastructure; (e) the existence of a duly justified risk of serious interferences of the planned electronic communications services with the provision of other services over the same physical infrastructure; (f) the availability of viable alternative means of passive wholesale physical access to electronic communications networks, suitable for the provision of VHCNs, and offered under fair and reasonable terms and conditions, that are provided by the same network operator or, in the specific case of rural or remote areas where a network is operated on a wholesale-only basis and owned or controlled by public sector bodies, that are provided by the operator of such network. 6. Member States may provide that the network operators and public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure may refuse access to specific physical infrastructure where there are viable alternative means of non-discriminatory open wholesale active access to VHCNs that are provided by the same network operator or by the same public body, provided that both of the following conditions are met: (a) such alternative means of wholesale access is offered under fair and reasonable terms and conditions, including price; (b) the deployment project of the requesting operator addresses the same coverage area and there is no other fibre network connecting end-user premises serving the coverage area. This paragraph shall apply only to those Member States where such or an equivalent refusal possibility is applied on 11 May 2024, in accordance with national law complying with Union law. 7. In the event of a refusal to provide access as referred to paragraphs 5 and 6, the network operator or the public sector body owning or controlling physical infrastructure shall communicate to the access seeker, in writing, the specific and detailed reasons for such refusal no later than one month from the date of the receipt of the complete request for access, except for national critical infrastructure as defined in national law, for which specific and detailed reasons shall not be required in the communication of refusal to the access seeker. 8. Member States may establish or designate a body to coordinate access requests to physical infrastructure owned or controlled by public sector bodies, provide legal and technical advice through the negotiation of access terms and conditions, and facilitate the provision of information via a single information point as referred to in Article 12. 9. Physical infrastructure which is already subject to access obligations imposed by national regulatory authorities pursuant to Directive (EU) 2018/1972 or resulting from the application of Union State aid rules shall not be subject to the obligations set out in paragraphs 1, 4, and 5 for as long as such access obligations are in place. 10. Public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure or certain categories of physical infrastructure may not apply paragraphs 1, 4 and 5 to that physical infrastructure or those categories of physical infrastructure for reasons of architectural, historical, religious or environmental value or for reasons of public security, defence, safety and health. Member States or, as appropriate, regional and local authorities shall identify such physical infrastructure or categories of physical infrastructure in their territories based on duly justified and proportionate reasons. The list of categories of physical infrastructure and the criteria applied to identify them shall be made available via a single information point. 11. Operators shall have the right to offer access to their physical infrastructure for the purpose of deploying networks other than electronic communications networks or associated facilities. 12. Notwithstanding paragraph 3, this Article shall be without prejudice to the right to property of the owner of the physical infrastructure where the network operator or the public sector body is not the owner, and to the right to property of any other third party, such as landowners and private property owners, or, where applicable, the rights of tenants. 13. After consulting stakeholders, the national dispute settlement bodies and other competent Union bodies or agencies in the relevant sectors as appropriate, and taking into account well-established principles and the distinct situation across Member States, the Commission may, in close cooperation with BEREC, provide guidance on the application of this Article.
Article 4 Transparency on physical infrastructure
1. In order to be able to request access to physical infrastructure in accordance with Article 3, an operator shall have the right to access, upon request, the following minimum information on existing physical infrastructure, in electronic format via a single information point: (a) georeferenced location and route; (b) type and current use of the infrastructure; (c) a contact point. Such minimum information shall be accessible, under proportionate, non-discriminatory and transparent terms and in any event no later than 10 working days after the date of submission of the request for access to information. In duly justified cases that deadline may be extended once by five working days. Operators requesting access shall be informed of any extension of the deadline via a single information point. Any operator requesting access to information pursuant to this Article shall specify the geographical area in which it envisages deploying elements of VHCNs or associated facilities. Access to the minimum information may be limited or refused provided that it is necessary to ensure the security of certain buildings owned or controlled by public sector bodies, the security of the networks and their integrity, national security, the security of national critical infrastructure, public health or safety, or for reasons of confidentiality or operating and business secrets. 2. In addition to the minimum information referred to in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, Member States may require information on existing physical infrastructure such as information on the occupation level of the physical infrastructure. 3. Network operators and public sector bodies shall make available at least the minimum information referred to in paragraph 1 and, where applicable, the additional information referred to in paragraph 2 via a single information point and in electronic format, and shall promptly make available any update to that information. In the event that network operators or public sector bodies do not comply with this paragraph, the competent authorities may request the missing information referred in paragraph 1 be made available in electronic format via a single information point, within 10 working days of the date of receipt of such request, without prejudice to the possibility for Member States to impose penalties on network operators and public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure for not complying with that obligation. 4. For a transitional period of the shortest time possible and of no longer than twelve months, Member States may exempt municipalities with fewer than 3 500 inhabitants from the obligation referred to in paragraph 3. Member States shall set out a roadmap with deadlines for making minimum information referred to in paragraph 1 available via a single information point in electronic format. Those exceptions and the roadmaps shall be published via a single information point. During that transitional period, those municipalities shall ensure that the available information is accessible to operators. 5. Network operators and public sector bodies shall meet reasonable requests for on-site surveys of specific elements of their physical infrastructure upon specific written request of an operator. Such requests shall specify the elements of the physical infrastructure concerned with a view to deploying elements of VHCNs or associated facilities. On-site surveys of the specified elements of the physical infrastructure shall be granted under proportionate, non-discriminatory and transparent terms within one month of the date of receipt of the request, subject to the limitations set out in paragraph 1, fourth subparagraph. Member States may specify detailed requirements relating to the administrative aspects of the requests. 6. Member States may identify, based on duly justified and proportionate reasons, the national critical infrastructure as defined in national law, or parts thereof, that shall not be subject to the obligations laid down in paragraphs 1, 3 and 5. 7. Paragraphs 1, 3 and 5 shall not apply where: (a) physical infrastructure is not technically suitable for the deployment of VHCNs or associated facilities’; (b) the obligation to provide information about certain existing types of physical infrastructure pursuant to paragraph 1, first subparagraph, would be disproportionate, on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis conducted by Member States and a consultation with stakeholders; or (c) physical infrastructure is not subject to access obligations in accordance with Article 3(10). The justification, criteria and conditions for applying any such exceptions shall be published via a single information point and notified to the Commission. 8. Operators that obtain access to information pursuant to this Article shall take appropriate measures to ensure respect for confidentiality as well as operating and business secrets. To that end, they shall keep the information confidential and use it only for the purpose of deploying their networks.
Article 5 Coordination of civil works
1. Public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure and network operators shall have the right to negotiate agreements on the coordination of civil works, including on the apportioning of costs, with operators with a view to deploying elements of VHCNs or associated facilities. 2. When performing, or planning to perform, directly or indirectly, civil works which are fully or partially financed by public means, public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure and network operators shall meet any reasonable written request to coordinate those civil works under transparent and non-discriminatory terms made by operators with a view to deploying elements of VHCNs or associated facilities. Member States may specify detailed requirements relating to the administrative aspects of the request. Requests to coordinate civil works shall be met, provided that all of the following conditions are met: (a) the coordination of civil works will not entail any unrecoverable additional costs, including those caused by additional delays, for the network operator or public sector body owning or controlling physical infrastructure that initially envisaged the civil works in question, without prejudice to the possibility of the parties concerned agreeing on apportioning the costs; (b) the network operator or public sector body owning or controlling physical infrastructure initially envisaging the civil works remains in control over the coordination of the works; (c) the request is submitted as soon as possible and, when a permit is necessary for the civil works, at least one month before the submission of the final project to the permit-granting authorities. 3. Member States may provide that requests to coordinate civil works made by an undertaking that provides, or is authorised to provide, public electronic communications networks to an undertaking owned or controlled by public sector bodies and providing, or authorised to provide, public electronic communications networks, may be deemed to be unreasonable in the event that the civil works contribute to the deployment of VHCNs, provided that those VHCNs are located in rural or remote areas, are owned or controlled by public sector bodies, and are operated on a wholesale-only basis. 4. A request to coordinate civil works made by an undertaking that provides, or that is authorised to provide, public electronic communications networks to an undertaking that provides or is authorised to provide public electronic communications networks may be deemed to be unreasonable where both of the following conditions are met: (a) the request concerns an area which has been subject to either of the following: (i) a forecast of the reach of broadband networks, including VHCNs pursuant to Article 22(1) of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (ii) an invitation to declare the intention to deploy VHCNs pursuant to Article 22(3) of Directive (EU) 2018/1972; (iii) a public consultation in applying Union State aid rules; (b) the requesting undertaking failed to express its intention to deploy VHCNs in the area referred to in point (a) in any of the most recent procedures among those listed in that point covering the period during which the request for coordination is made. If a request to coordinate is considered unreasonable on the basis of the first subparagraph, the undertaking providing, or authorised to provide, public electronic communications networks that refused the coordination of civil works shall deploy physical infrastructure with sufficient capacity to accommodate possible future reasonable needs for third-party access. 5. Member States may identify, based on duly justified and proportionate reasons, the types of civil works considered to be limited in scope, such as in terms of value, size or duration, or related to national critical infrastructure that could be exempt from the obligation to coordinate civil works pursuant to paragraph 2. The justification, criteria and conditions for applying exceptions to such types of civil works shall be published via a single information point. Member States may decide that public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure and network operators shall not apply paragraphs 2 and 4 to types of civil works that relate to national critical infrastructure or for reasons of national security identified by Member States pursuant to first subparagraph of this paragraph. Public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure and network operators may decide not to apply paragraphs 2 and 4 to types of works that are identified by Member States as limited in scope pursuant to the first subparagraph of this paragraph. 6. By 12 November 2025, after consulting stakeholders, the national dispute settlement bodies and other competent Union bodies or agencies in the relevant sectors, as appropriate, and after taking into account well-established principles and the specific situations of each Member State, BEREC shall, in close cooperation with the Commission, provide guidelines on the application of this Article, in particular concerning: (a) apportioning the costs associated with the coordination of civil works as referred to in paragraph 1; (b) the criteria that the dispute settlement bodies should follow when settling disputes falling within the scope of this Article; and (c) the criteria for ensuring sufficient capacity to accommodate foreseeable future reasonable needs if coordination of civil works is refused pursuant to paragraph 4.
Article 6 Transparency on planned civil works
1. In order to enable the negotiation of agreements on coordination of civil works referred to in Article 5, any network operator and public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure shall make available in electronic format via a single information point the following minimum information: (a) the georeferenced location and the type of works; (b) the elements of physical infrastructure involved; (c) the estimated date for starting the works and their duration; (d) the estimated date for submitting the final project to the competent authorities for granting permits, where applicable; (e) a contact point. The network operator and public sector body owning or controlling physical infrastructure shall ensure that the information referred to in the first subparagraph for planned civil works related to its physical infrastructure, is correct, and up to date and made available promptly, via a single information point, as soon as the information is available to the network operator for its civil works envisaged in the following six months and, in any event and where a permit is envisaged, not later than two months before the first submission of the application for a permit to the competent authorities. Operators shall have the right to access the minimum information referred to in the first subparagraph in electronic format, upon reasoned request, via a single information point, specifying the area in which the requesting operator envisages deploying elements of VHCNs or associated facilities. Within 10 working days of the date of receipt of the request to access information, the requested information shall be made available under proportionate, non-discriminatory and transparent terms. In duly justified cases, that deadline may be extended once by five working days. Access to the minimum information may be limited or refused only where necessary to ensure the security of the networks and their integrity, national security, the security of critical infrastructure, public health or safety, or for reasons of confidentiality or operating and business secrets. 2. Member States may identify, based on duly justified and proportionate reasons, the types of civil works considered to be limited in scope, such as in terms of value, size or duration, or related to national critical infrastructure, as well as the emergencies or the reasons of national security that would justify not being subject to the obligation to make the minimum information available pursuant to paragraph 1. The justification, criteria and conditions for applying exceptions to such types of civil works shall be published via a single information point. Member States may decide that public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure and network operators shall not apply paragraph 1 to types of civil works that relate to national critical infrastructure or for reasons of national security identified by Member States pursuant to first subparagraph of this paragraph. Public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure and network operators may decide not to apply paragraph 1 to information on types of civil works that are limited in scope as well as for the emergency reasons identified by Member States pursuant to first subparagraph of this paragraph.
Article 7 Procedure for granting permits and rights of way
1. Competent authorities shall not unduly restrict or hinder the deployment of any element of VHCNs or associated facilities. Member States shall make their best efforts to facilitate that any rules governing the conditions and procedures applicable for granting permits and rights of way, required for the deployment of elements of VHCNs or associated facilities are consistent across the national territory. 2. Competent authorities shall make available, via a single information point in electronic format, all information on the conditions and procedures applicable for granting permits, and rights of way, which are granted via administrative procedures, including any information on exemptions on some or all permits or rights of way required under Union or national law and ways to submit applications in electronic format and retrieve information on the status of the application. 3. Any operator shall have the right to submit, via a single information point in electronic format, applications for all necessary permits or renewals thereof, or rights of way and to retrieve information about the status of its application. Member States may specify detailed procedures to retrieve that information. 4. The competent authorities may, within 15 working days of its receipt, reject applications for permits, including for rights of way, for which the minimum information has not been made available via a single information point pursuant to Article 6(1), first subparagraph, by the same operator which applies for that permit. 5. The competent authorities shall grant or refuse permits, other than rights of way, within 4 months of the date of receipt of a complete permit application. The competent authorities shall determine the completeness of the application for permits or rights of way within 20 working days of receipt of the application. Competent authorities shall invite the applicant to provide any missing information within that period. The determination by the competent authority that the permit application is complete shall not result in any suspension or interruption of the overall four-month period for the examination of the permit application, starting from the date of receipt of the complete application. The first and second subparagraphs shall be without prejudice to other specific deadlines or obligations laid down for the proper conduct of the procedure that are applicable to the permit-granting procedure, including appeal proceedings, in accordance with Union law or national law in compliance with Union law and without prejudice to rules that grant the applicant additional rights or aim to ensure the fastest possible granting of permits. Member States shall set out and publish, in advance, via a single information point, the grounds on which the competent authority can, in exceptional and duly substantiated cases, acting on its own motion, extend the deadlines referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph and in paragraph 6. Any extension shall be the shortest possible and shall not exceed four months, except where required to meet other specific deadlines or obligations laid down for the proper conduct of the procedure that are applicable to the permit-granting procedure, including appeal proceedings, in accordance with Union law or with national law in compliance with Union law. An extension shall not be requested in order to obtain missing information which the competent authority has failed to request from the applicant pursuant to the second subparagraph. Any refusal of a permit or a right of way shall be duly substantiated on the basis of objective, transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate criteria. 6. By way of derogation from Article 43(1), point (a), of Directive (EU) 2018/1972, where rights of way on, over or under public, or where applicable, private property, with the prior authorisation of the owner or in accordance with national law, are required for the deployment of elements of VHCNs or associated facilities in addition to permits, competent authorities shall grant such rights of way within the four-month period or the deadline set by national law, whichever is shorter, from the date of receipt of the complete application except in the case of expropriation. 7. Competent authorities may renew the permit granted to an operator for civil works necessary for the deployment of elements of VHCNs or associated facilities where for objectively justified reasons the civil works could not start or be concluded before the expiration of the validity of the permit. The renewal of the permit shall be granted without additional procedural requirements for the operators. 8. Member States may, inter alia, require permits for the deployment of elements of VHCNs or associated facilities on buildings or sites of architectural, historical, religious or environmental value protected in accordance with national law or where necessary for public safety, security of critical infrastructure or environmental reasons. 9. Permits, other than rights of way, required for the deployment of elements of VHCNs or associated facilities shall not be subject to any fees or charges going beyond administrative costs as provided for, mutatis mutandis , in Article 16 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972. 10. The Commission shall monitor the application of this Article in Member States. To that end, Member States shall report every three years to the Commission on the status of implementation of this Article and on whether the conditions listed therein have been met. 11. The procedure established in this Article shall apply without prejudice to Article 57 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972. 12. This Article shall be without prejudice to the possibility of Member States to introduce further provisions for competent authorities to speed up the permit-granting procedure.
Article 8 Absence of a decision on the application for permit
1. In the absence of a decision from the competent authority within the applicable deadline referred to in Article 7(5), the permit shall be deemed to be granted upon expiry of that deadline. The first subparagraph shall apply provided that the permit-granting procedure does not concern rights of way. Upon request, the operator or any affected party shall be entitled to receive written confirmation from the competent authority that, where applicable, the permit has been implicitly granted. Member States shall ensure that any third party affected has the right to intervene in the administrative procedure and to challenge the decision granting the permit. 2. Member States may derogate from paragraph 1 of this Article where at least one of the following remedies is available for the relevant permit-granting procedure: (a) the operator which suffered damage as a result of non-compliance by the competent authority with the applicable deadline set out in accordance with Article 7(5) is entitled to claim compensation for damage, in accordance with national law; (b) the operator may refer the case to a court or to a supervising authority. 3. In the event of a derogation pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article, the Member State concerned shall ensure that, upon expiry of the deadline set in accordance with Article 7(5) and without prejudice to the right of the operator to immediately seek remedies in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article, the competent authority, or any other body determined by that Member State, shall invite the applicant, without undue delay, upon request of the operator, or on its own motion, to a meeting to facilitate the adoption of a decision on the permit application. The meeting shall be convened by the competent authority no later than two months after the submission of the request. Without undue delay after the meeting, the competent authority shall provide the written account of the discussion, including the views of the parties involved and indicating to the operator a date when a decision on the permit application is to be issued.
Article 9 Exemptions from permit-granting procedures
1. Civil works which consist of any of the following shall not be subject to any permit-granting procedure within the meaning of Article 7, unless such a permit is required in accordance with other Union legal acts: (a) repair and maintenance works which are limited in scope, such as in terms of value, size, impact and duration; (b) limited technical upgrades of existing works or installations, with limited impact; (c) small-scale civil works that are limited in scope, such as in terms of value, size, impact or duration required for the deployment of VHCNs. 2. Based on duly justified and proportionate reasons, Member States shall identify the types of civil works to which paragraph 1 applies. Information on such types of civil works shall be published via a single information point. 3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 and subject to the procedure laid down in paragraph 2, competent authorities may require permits for the deployment of elements of VHCNs or associated facilities in the following situations: (a) for physical infrastructure or certain categories of physical infrastructure protected for reasons of architectural, historical, religious or environmental value, or otherwise protected in accordance with national law; or (b) where necessary for reasons of public security, defence, safety, environmental or public health reasons, or to protect the security of critical infrastructure. 4. Member States may require operators which plan to carry out civil works covered by this Article to notify the competent authorities, before the start of the works, of their intention to commence the civil works. This notification shall not entail more than a declaration by the operator of its intention to start the civil works and the submission of minimum information which is required to allow competent authorities to assess whether those works are covered by the derogation set out in paragraph 3. That minimum information shall include at least the date when the civil works are expected to start, their duration, contact details of the person responsible for undertaking the works and the area concerned by the works.
Article 10 In-building physical infrastructure and fibre wiring
1. All newly constructed buildings and buildings undergoing major renovation works, including elements under joint ownership, for which applications for building permits have been submitted after 12 February 2026, shall be equipped with a fibre-ready in-building physical infrastructure and in-building fibre wiring, including connections up to the physical point where the end user connects to the public network. 2. All newly constructed multi-dwelling buildings or multi-dwelling buildings undergoing major renovation works, for which applications for building permits have been submitted after 12 February 2026, shall be equipped with an access point. 3. By 12 February 2026, all buildings, including elements thereof under joint ownership, undergoing major renovations as defined in Article 2, point (10), of Directive 2010/31/EU, shall be equipped with a fibre-ready in-building physical infrastructure, and in-building fibre wiring, including connections up to the physical point where the end user connects to the public network, if that does not disproportionately increase the costs of the renovation works and if it is technically feasible. All multi-dwelling buildings undergoing such major renovations shall also be equipped with an access point. 4. By 12 November 2025, Member States shall, in consultation with interested parties and on the basis of industry best practices, adopt the relevant standards or technical specifications that are necessary for the implementation of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3. Those standards or technical specifications shall easily allow ordinary maintenance activities for the individual fibre wirings used by each operator to provide VHCN services and shall set at least: (a) the building access point specifications and fibre interface specifications; (b) cable specifications; (c) socket specifications; (d) specifications of conduits or micro-ducts; (e) technical specifications needed to prevent interference with electrical cabling; (f) the minimum bend radius; (g) technical specifications for the cabling installation. 5. Member States shall ensure compliance with the standards or technical specifications referred to in paragraph 4. To demonstrate such compliance, Member States shall set up procedures which could include on-site inspection of the buildings or a representative sample of them. 6. Buildings equipped in accordance with this Article shall be eligible, on a voluntary basis and following the procedures set up by Member States, to receive a ‘fibre-ready’ label, where Member States have chosen to introduce such a label. 7. Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall not apply to certain categories of buildings, where compliance with those paragraphs is disproportionate, in terms of costs for individual or joint owners based on objective elements. Member States shall identify such categories of buildings based on duly justified and proportionate reasons. 8. Member States shall identify, on the basis of duly substantiated and proportionate reasons, the types of buildings, such as specific categories of monuments, historic buildings, military buildings and buildings used for national security purposes, as defined in national law, that are to be exempt from the obligations provided for in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 or to which these obligations are to apply with proper technical adaptations. Information on such categories of buildings shall be published via a single information point.
Article 11 Access to in-building physical infrastructure
1. Subject to paragraph 3, and without prejudice to property rights, any provider of public electronic communications networks shall have the right to roll out its network at its own costs up to the access point. 2. Subject to paragraph 3, any provider of public electronic communications networks shall have the right to access any existing in-building physical infrastructure with a view to deploying elements of VHCNs if duplication is technically impossible or economically inefficient. 3. Any holder of a right to use the access point and the in-building physical infrastructure shall meet all reasonable written requests for access to the access point and the in-building physical infrastructure from providers of public electronic communications networks under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, including price, where appropriate. Member States may specify detailed requirements relating to administrative aspects of the request. 4. In the absence of available fibre-ready in-building physical infrastructure, any provider of public electronic communications networks shall have the right to terminate its network at the premises of the subscriber, subject to the agreement of the owner and/or the subscriber, in accordance with national law, using the existing in-building physical infrastructure, to the extent that it is available and accessible under paragraph 3, and provided that it minimises the impact on the private property of third parties. 5. This Article shall be without prejudice to the right to property of the owner of the access point or the in-building physical infrastructure where the holder of a right to use that infrastructure or access point is not the owner thereof, and to the right to property of other third parties, such as land owners and building owners. 6. By 12 November 2025, after consulting stakeholders, the national dispute settlement bodies and other competent Union bodies or agencies in the relevant sectors as appropriate, and taking into account well-established principles and the distinct situation across Member States, BEREC shall, in close cooperation with the Commission, publish guidelines on the terms and conditions of access to in-building physical infrastructure, including on the application of fair and reasonable terms and conditions, and the criteria that the national dispute settlement bodies should follow when settling disputes.
Article 12 Digitalisation of single information points
1. Single information points shall make appropriate digital tools available, such as in the form of web portals, databases, digital platforms or digital applications, to enable the online exercise of all the rights and the compliance with all the obligations set out in this Regulation. 2. Member States may interconnect, or fully or partially integrate, several existing or newly developed digital tools supporting the single information points referred to in paragraph 1, as appropriate, in order to avoid duplication of digital tools. 3. Member States shall set out a single national digital entry point, consisting of a common user interface to ensure seamless access to the digitalised single information points. 4. Member States shall ensure adequate technical, financial and human resources to support the roll-out and the digitalisation of single information points.
Article 13 Dispute settlement
1. Without prejudice to the possibility to refer a case to a court, any party shall be entitled to refer to the competent national dispute settlement body established pursuant to Article 14 a dispute that may arise: (a) where access to existing infrastructure is refused or agreement on specific terms and conditions, including price, has not been reached within one month of the date of receipt of the request for access under Article 3; (b) in connection to the rights and obligations set out in Articles 4 and 6, including where the information requested is not provided within the applicable deadlines; (c) where an agreement on the coordination of civil works pursuant to Article 5(2) has not been reached within one month of the date of receipt of the formal request to coordinate civil works; or (d) where an agreement on access to in-building physical infrastructure referred to in Article 11(2) or (3) has not been reached within one month of the date of receipt of the formal request for access. Member States may provide that, in the event of disputes referred to in paragraph 1, points (a) and (d), where the entity from which the operator requested access is at the same time the entity entitled to grant the right of way to the property on, in or under which the subject of the access request is located, the competent national dispute settlement body may also resolve disputes regarding the right of way. 2. Taking full account of the principle of proportionality and the principles established in the relevant Commission guidance or BEREC guidelines, the national dispute settlement body referred to in paragraph 1 shall issue a binding decision to resolve the dispute: (a) within four months of the date of the receipt of the dispute settlement request, with respect to disputes referred to in paragraph 1, point (a); (b) within one month of the date of the receipt of the dispute settlement request, with respect to disputes referred to in paragraph 1, points (b), (c) and (d). Those deadlines may be extended only in duly justified exceptional circumstances. 3. As regards disputes referred to in paragraph 1, points (a), (c) and (d), the decision of the national dispute settlement body may consist in setting fair and reasonable terms and conditions, including price, where appropriate. 4. The dispute settlement bodies shall publish their decisions, while respecting the principles of confidentiality and protection of business secrets. The single information point shall ensure access to the decisions published by the dispute settlement bodies. Where the dispute relates to access to the infrastructure of an operator and the national dispute settlement body is the national regulatory authority, the objectives set out in Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 shall be taken into account, where appropriate. 5. This Article complements and is without prejudice to the judicial remedies and procedures in compliance with Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Article 14 Competent bodies
1. Member States shall establish or designate one or more competent bodies to carry out the tasks assigned to the national dispute settlement body in accordance with Article 13(1) (the ‘national dispute settlement body’). 2. The national dispute settlement body shall be legally distinct from, and functionally independent of, any network operator and any public sector body owning or controlling physical infrastructure involved in the dispute. Member States that retain ownership or control of network operators shall ensure effective structural separation of the functions related to the national dispute settlement procedures and those of the single information point from activities associated with ownership or control. National dispute settlement bodies shall act independently and objectively, and shall not seek or take instructions from any other body when deciding on the disputes submitted to them. This shall not prevent supervision in accordance with national law. Only competent appeal bodies shall have the power to suspend or overturn decisions of the national dispute settlement bodies. 3. The national dispute settlement body may charge fees to cover the costs of carrying out the tasks assigned to it. 4. All parties concerned by a dispute shall cooperate fully with the national dispute settlement body. 5. The functions of a single information point referred to in Articles 3 to 10, 12 and 13 shall be performed by one or more competent bodies appointed by Member States at national, regional or local level, as appropriate. In order to cover the costs of carrying out those functions, fees may be charged for the use of the single information points. 6. Paragraph 2, first subparagraph, shall apply mutatis mutandis to the competent bodies performing the functions of a single information point. 7. The competent bodies shall exercise their powers impartially, transparently and in a timely manner. Member States shall ensure that they shall have adequate technical, financial and human resources to carry out the tasks assigned to them. 8. Member States shall publish the tasks to be undertaken by each competent body via a single information point, in particular where those tasks are assigned to more than one competent body or where the assigned tasks have changed. Where appropriate, the competent bodies shall consult and cooperate with each other on matters of common interest. 9. Member States shall notify to the Commission the identity of each competent body, in accordance with this Article, for carrying out a function under this Regulation, and their respective responsibilities and any modification thereof, before such designation or modification enters into force. 10. Any decision taken by a competent body shall be subject to an appeal, in accordance with national law, before a fully independent appeal body, including a body of judicial character. Article 31 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 shall apply mutatis mutandis to any appeal pursuant to this paragraph. The right to appeal in accordance with the first subparagraph shall be without prejudice to the right of the parties to bring the dispute before the national competent court.
Article 15 Penalties
Member States shall lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation and of any binding decision adopted pursuant to this Regulation by the competent bodies referred to in Article 14 and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be appropriate, effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
Article 16 Report and monitoring
1. By 12 May 2028, the Commission shall present a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of this Regulation. The report shall include a summary of the impact of the measures set out in this Regulation and an assessment of the progress towards achieving its objectives, including whether and how this Regulation could further contribute to achieving the connectivity targets set out in the Decision (EU) 2022/2481. The report shall include developments related to the scope of this Regulation that have a potential impact on the progress towards a fast and extensive deployment of VHCN, in rural, insular and remote areas, such as islands and mountainous and scarcely populated regions, as well as on the evolution of the market for tower infrastructure, and the take-up of various backhauling solutions including satellite backhauling in digital highspeed connectivity. 2. To that end, the Commission may request information from Member States that shall be submitted without undue delay. In particular, by 12 November 2025, Member States shall, in close cooperation with the Commission, through the Communications Committee set up under Article 118 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972, set out indicators to adequately monitor the application of this Regulation and the mechanism to ensure a periodic data gathering and reporting to the Commission thereof.
Article 17 Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2015/2120
Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 is amended as follows: (1) in Article 2, the following points are added: ‘(5) “number-independent interpersonal communications service” means number-independent interpersonal communications service as defined in Article 2, point (7), of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( *1 ) ; (6) “domestic communications” means any number-based interpersonal communications service originating in the Member State of the consumer’s domestic provider and terminating at any fixed or mobile number of the national numbering plan of the same Member State; (7) “intra-EU communications” means any number-based interpersonal communications service originating in the Member State of the consumer’s domestic provider and terminating at any fixed or mobile number of the national numbering plan of another Member State. ( *1 ) Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code ( OJ L 321, 17.12.2018, p. 36 ).’;" (2) in Article 5a, the following paragraphs are added: ‘7. From 1 January 2029, providers shall not apply different retail prices to consumers for domestic communications and intra-EU communications, provided that technical rules on safeguards, such as sustainability, fair use and anti-fraud measures, are adopted. By 30 June 2028, the Commission shall, after consulting BEREC, adopt an implementing act laying down those technical rules in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 5b. 8. From 1 January 2025, providers may on a voluntary basis comply with the obligation not to apply different retail prices laid down in paragraph 7. Those providers shall be exempt from the obligations laid down in paragraph 1, subject to a fair use policy, with a view to bringing the benefits of equal retail prices for domestic and intra-EU communications to consumers earlier. To that end, the Commission shall adopt an implementing act on fair use, based on typical usage patterns, and anti-fraud measures by 31 December 2024, after consulting BEREC. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 5b(2). 9. By 30 June 2027, after consulting BEREC, the Commission shall review this Article, and based on the assessment of its impact, the Commission may, if appropriate, decide to submit a legislative proposal in order to amend it. 10. The assessment referred to in paragraph 9 shall include: (a) the evolution of the wholesale costs related to the provision of intra-EU communications; (b) the evolution of competition in the market for the provision of number-based interpersonal communications services and the trend of the retail prices of intra-EU communications within the different Member States; (c) the evolution of consumer preferences and choice of special offers and bundles not charged on the basis of actual consumption of intra-EU communications; (d) the possible impact on the national markets for the provision of number-based interpersonal communications services and in particular on the retail prices charged to consumers at large, taking into account the costs of providing intra-EU communications, and the potential impact of the measures on revenues for the providers and, if possible, investment capacity of the providers, in view in particular of the future roll-out of networks in line with the connectivity targets set out in Decision (EU) 2022/2481 where additional charges for intra-EU communications are not already applied; (e) the extent of the usage, availability and competitiveness of number-independent interpersonal communications services or any alternatives to intra-EU communications; (f) the evolution of tariff plans as regards the intra-EU communications, and in particular, the extent to which the implementation of the measures provided for in paragraph 8, has produced results in the direction of the elimination of retail price differences for consumers between domestic and intra-EU communications. 11. In order to carry out the assessment referred to in paragraph 9, BEREC shall collect relevant information from national regulatory authorities on a regular basis. Where applicable, national regulatory authorities may provide such data in coordination with other competent authorities. The data collected by BEREC pursuant to this paragraph shall be notified to the Commission at least once a year. The Commission shall make them public. To ensure that BEREC can carry out its obligations under this paragraph, providers shall be obliged to cooperate by providing the requested data, including confidential data, to the relevant national authorities.’;
Article 18 Repeal
1. Directive 2014/61/EU is repealed with effect from 11 May 2024. 2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, where the provisions of this Regulation replacing the provisions of Directive 2014/61/EU apply from a later date, the following corresponding provisions of that Directive shall remain in force until that same date, as set out below: (a) Article 4(2) and (3) Article 4(4), first sentence, Article 6(1), (2), (3) and (5), and Article 7(1) and (2), of that Directive shall remain in force until 12 May 2026; (b) Article 8(1) to (4) of that Directive shall remain in force until 12 February 2026. 3. References to the repealed Directive shall be construed as references to this Regulation and read in accordance with the correlation table in the Annex.
Article 19 Entry into force and application
1. This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . 2. It shall apply from 12 November 2025. 3. By way of derogation from paragraph 2 of this Article: (a) Article 5(6) and Article 11(6) shall apply from 11 May 2024; (b) Article 17 shall apply from 15 May 2024. (c) Article 10(1), (2) and (3) shall apply from 12 February 2026; (d) Article 4(3), Article 6(1), Article 7(2) and (3) and Article 12(1), (2) and (3) shall apply from 12 May 2026;