During the “Broadband Europe” final workshop participants from various Member States gained valuable insights into the project and discussed the contents of the website. The day started with a welcoming remark and presentation on broadband development and initiatives in the European Union by Anna Krzyzanowska, Head of Unit, DG Connect. She introduced the audience to the European broadband policy, the digital targets, financing tools and regulatory developments. Johannes Feldmann, COO at aconium, continued with a presentation on prerequisites, intentions and aims of the “Broadband Europe” project. He highlighted “Broadband Europe” as the platform to connect broadband stakeholders across Europe and the aim to share information on broadband via a single platform. The day continued with an introduction of the structure of the Commission’s websites. Lisa Lienert, Head of Brussels Office at aconium highlighted its functions in the frame of the Digital Agenda for Europe. Further on political strategies, financial instruments, financing tools, technologies as well as the regulatory framework around cost reduction measures were introduced. Moreover, Broadband Europe initiatives, such as the best practice database for broadband projects and the discussion community have been presented. Special attention was given to the European Broadband Award, which became an established tool in the European Commission’s calendar due to its success in 2015. The website experienced a peak in number of page views when the European Broadband Award was handed over by EU Commissioner Günther Oettinger. A future outlook on the project suggested to focus on updating existing content, as participants stressed the current topics already covering a broad range of information, and concentrating on communication activities.
After lunch break, participants got the chance to actively take part and discuss the content, challenges and solutions, advantages and improvements of the project. One outcome was a strong focus on targeted marketing and communication activities establishing “Broadband Europe” as a central information hub on the European level. The first step in this direction has been taken by sending out a monthly Broadband Europe newsletter. Its popularity should still be increased by selective marketing initiatives across various social media channels. Before a summary and the closure of the workshop by Dr. Robert Henkel, Senior Policy Officer, DG Connect, Nicolea Ticau, Policy Officer at DG Connect, introduced the Broadband Competence Offices (BCO) as a new initiative by the Commission to specifically inform about ways to finance broadband through various European funds, such as the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) or the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). The main purpose of the BCOs is to provide technical support to local and regional authorities on how to invest effectively in broadband and how to combine this whenever possible with financial instruments.