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Europe Telecom Insider/Vol. 3, No 4, Edition 12 - Public-Private Partnerships Will Ensure Fiber Future in Europe
Pyramid Research, Inc, Dec 2011, Pages: 25
The European Commission’s Europe 2020 Strategy aims to bring broadband access to all by 2013, with partnerships between telecom and non-telecom players expected to drive nationwide broadband adoption across Europe, according to a new report.
Public-Private Partnerships Will Ensure Fiber Future in Europe asks how European governments can future-proof their networks and make the goal of universal broadband access within their national borders a reality. To answer the question, Pyramid Research examines several methods adopted by various European governments and then distills some best practices.
“In line with the Europe 2020 agenda, EU27 countries are set to increase coverage and broadband access speeds, and through ICT stimulate the region’s economic development,” says Pyramid Research Analyst, Sylwia Boguszewska. There is €1.8bn available, and several new EU members are using these funds to extend broadband networks to rural/underserved areas.
Partnerships between telecom and non-telecom players are the best way to ensure nationwide broadband adoption across Europe. For this reason, Pyramid Research expects this model to be the most adopted across the region over the next couple of years. “National broadband plans play an important role in broadband development because they set targets for a country and allocate funds for network deployments, and aid in the deployment of networks in rural areas,” Boguszewska adds.
Key findings
- In line with the Europe 2020 agenda, EU27 countries are set to increase coverage and broadband access speeds, and through ICT stimulate the region’s economic development. There is €1.8bn available, and a number of new EU members are using these funds to extend broadband networks to rural/underserved areas.
- National broadband plans are a necessity. Given the economic disincentives for deployment in certain areas, it is important for regulators to step in and provide invectives and look for best ways to ensure more complete population coverage.
- The incumbent operators tend to be the latecomers to fiber because they fear that after investing in upgrading their network, they will have to open it to alternative operators. This is one of the main reasons behind incumbents sticking with DSL. In countries where regulators gave the incumbent a regulatory break, this in fact stimulated the fiber proliferation.
- Alternative operators find in fiber a competitive advantage to cable companies and try to partner in order to keep the capex down and hasten ROI. Also, in countries where LLU has been slow, rolling out their own infrastructure brings savings.
- The open-access model works best if there is a strong public-private partnership. In the case of a city, housing associations are the key to success.
- Municipalities and utilities play an important role and have been particularly active in the Nordic markets.
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