Some projects deal with broadband expansion in rural areas, while others focus on more widespread expansion up to the coverage of an entire country. The winners will be considered as exemplary projects for all subsequent initiatives dealing with broadband development in Europe. Günther H. Oettinger, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, said: “Our goal is to achieve gigabit connectivity, 5G and better internet in rural areas. Today I am awarding the best European broadband projects 2016. The success of the broadband targets so far encourages us to raise the bar and jump higher. I would also like to encourage everyone involved to keep working to make gigabit a reality as soon as possible.” The five winners were selected from 66 projects from across Europe. Following the award ceremony, Commissioner Oettinger will attend a Broadband Day in Brussels on November 15, a conference bringing together various stakeholders working on broadband development. This is the first conference on broadband following the launch of the new European Strategy for a Gigabit Society and the legislative proposals for the Telecoms Review. Find out more about the winners:
Category “Innovative financing, business and investment models”: Establishment of a broadband network in Wielkopolska/Poland
In 2009, the parliament of the Wielkopolska region in Poland founded the company Wielkopolska Broadband Network Inc. The company built a nationwide fiber-optic-based NGA network open to all providers, which it now also operates. Regional telecommunications companies supply customers over the last mile. The project is characterized by its innovative financing model: Different financial sources came together in a public-private partnership. In addition to investments from two private companies (INEA S.A. and ASTA-NET) and other private players, the project also received EU funding from the ERDF fund. The interaction of several donors made it possible to set up the network Further information at
www.szerokopasmowawielkopolska.pl
Category “Cost reduction and co-investment”:Net4all – Public-private partnership for a UBB network for the industrial sector in the rural regions of Emiglia Romana
The northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna is investing together with private companies in the creation of an ultra-broadband network (UBB) for public administrations and private companies – the Lepida network. The network, which is owned by public administrations, is already in use in 12 industrial areas and 90 companies. By sharing existing passive infrastructures, synergies can be exploited and costs reduced. The interplay of public and private investment makes the project successful (public-private partnership). This creates an open network with an economically strong business model. Further information can be found at: www.lepida.it/progetti-speciali/aree-produttive
In the Dutch municipality of De Wolden, a super-fast fiber optic network was built as part of a community-oriented initiative. Due to the low population density – the municipality has only 10,000 residential units in an area of approx. 227 square kilometers – a comprehensive broadband expansion is difficult to achieve. The initiative, which is made up of committed citizens, local energy providers and regional decision-makers, has succeeded in building a comprehensive fiber optic network for private households and commercial areas. Through a combination of sales financing and state funding, 16 million euros were secured for the construction of the passive infrastructure. This participatory bottom-up approach is a good example of the involvement and successful cooperation of local stakeholders. In the project, private companies, energy suppliers and local authorities have joined forces to make broadband expansion cost-effective for consumers and network operators. Further information can be found at: Further information can be found here: www.glasvezeldewolden.nl
Category “Openness and competition”: nöGig
The aim of the state of Lower Austria is to provide households, companies and municipalities with nationwide, future-proof broadband. The Lower Austrian fiber optic infrastructure company (nöGIG) acts as a point of contact for municipalities and regions in Lower Austria. In this project, broadband expansion is realized within the framework of an innovative business model, the so-called “three-layer model”: the passive and active infrastructure are operated and managed separately and all service providers operating at end customer level are granted non-discriminatory, open access. This type of multiple marketing is of particular interest for rural regions with a low population density, as it improves the framework conditions for economical network development. In order to make the expansion efficient, inter-municipal cooperation was introduced, the three layers (3-LOM) were separated and the infrastructure was expanded. The introduction of quality documentation and the use of municipal synergies (road construction, water and geodata management) also made a decisive contribution to the success of the project. More information: www.noegig.at
Category “Future-proofing and service quality”: ReMIX: Decentralized Internet node for remote and rural networks
The area in which ReMIX is currently being implemented stretches along a 400 km long, mountainous north-south corridor in the Scottish Highlands and the offshore islands. Long distances have to be covered here to connect the sparsely populated regions to a backhaul network. The solution offered by ReMIX is the establishment of a decentralized Internet node point. The ReMIX architecture is based on common standards and technologies that fit into the target environment. It does not require a high connection density. The project aims to establish high-quality backhaul connections in remote regions, make backhaul connections affordable even for small access networks and maintain the autonomy of the networks for their sustainability. The cooperative business and operating model also ensures long-term sustainability. The project was funded primarily through private investment, with a 12% corporate sponsorship and 5% county subsidy. For more information visit: http://hubs.net.uk/whix
You can watch the complete laudation by Günther Oettinger and the award ceremony again in the stream here .