The European Commission and EU countries have developed a common Connectivity Toolbox to foster the construction of broadband connectivity infrastructure and accelerate the deployment of 5G.
The European Commission adopted on 18 September 2020 a Recommendation to boost the construction of broadband networks (EU 2020/1307). Based on the Recommendation, EU countries and the European Commission developed a common Connectivity Toolbox of best practices for promoting and accelerating the construction of broadband connectivity infrastructure. The Toolbox was published on 26 March 2021.
The Connectivity Toolbox includes 39 ways to promote the construction of very high capacity networks and speed up the deployment of 5G. After the Toolbox was published, each EU country had to draw up by 30 April 2021 a roadmap for its implementation.
The best practices included in the Toolbox concern the following topics:
- streamlining permit granting procedures
- improving transparency through the single information point (SIP)
- expanding the right of access to existing physical infrastructure
- dispute resolution mechanism
- reducing the environmental footprint of networks
- environmental impact assessment
- incentives for investment in the construction of mobile networks
- EU-level coordination on spectrum assignment for cross-border industrial use
- aspects related to the electromagnetic fields of 5G networks and public health.