Backbone connectivity for Digital Global Gateways - Works

The objective of this call is to support the deployment of strategic networks as part of the Digital Global Gateway Strategy of the EU, contributing to strengthen the quality of connectivity within the Union as well as with third countries. The deployment may include submarine cables systems, satellite infrastructures and connectivity to internet exchange points under this call.

By supporting the targeted deployment of such connectivity, CEF Digital will have a positive impact not only on strengthening the connectivity capacity, but also on stimulating commercial offers of connectivity.

Access to backbone connectivity in EU Member States differs significantly. In certain regions lack of adequate backbone connectivity may have an impact on the development and service provided by access networks and contribute to generate imbalances in the prices of services, both for network operators in these regions, as well as for their inhabitants.

In particular the connectivity situation for Member States that are themselves islands and/or have islands as part of their territory differs significantly from other Member States. For remote territories such as islands, Outermost Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories, the commercial prices and other conditions of backbone connectivity may hinder the full participation of citizens and enterprises in the digital European economy.

In such areas, market forces alone may not provide answers to all of these challenges. As a result, certain areas may remain underserved or experiment higher prices in terms of access to backbone connectivity.

This topic will support the deployment of backbone connectivity for routes within Member States, between Member States, and between the EU and third countries, including to remote territories:

(1) where there is a lack of redundancy on a route. This is typically the case of routes which are not served by at least two present or credibly planned backbone infrastructures; or

(2) where existing or credibly planned backbone infrastructure cannot satisfy the demand, taking into account if necessary any increase in the demand linked to ongoing or credibly planned investments in the upgrade of access networks in the territories concerned. The level of use of existing capacity as well as the expected life of backbone networks are among the elements that can be taken into account to justify such a market failure; or

(3) where despite the presence of a backbone infrastructure providing sufficient capacity and guaranteeing the necessary redundancy, in the absence of credible plans from alternative operators to enter the market, the users in the served territories suffer (or could suffer in the absence of adequate regulatory remedies) from suboptimal services or prices compared to those offered in more competitive but otherwise comparable areas or routes. This could be the case for instance if the backbone infrastructure or a substantial part of it is in the hands of an operator which according to a competent national regulatory authority has market power in the form of a significant market position in the relevant market.

CEF Digital will not support projects that concern routes served already by at least two present or credibly planned submarine cables, as it is presumed that redundancy is addressed by the two infrastructures. Only in projects concerning territories (e.g. small islands or territories with limited population density) where backbone connectivity needs can be served using satellite infrastructure, will the presence of such infrastructure be taken into account when assessing the lack of redundancy.

In case of co-funding from national funds (including Cohesion Funds and the RRF) State aid rules apply (see section 10 of the Work Programme for details).

Proposals under this topic shall address works, with the possibility to include studies:

• For Works, the total project costs required to construct and deliver the described networking solution for the foreseen system lifetime, from end to end, including cable landing stations and the connectivity towards them will be covered under this call. In the case of satellite backbone solutions, only the costs linked to the construction of satellite ground stations and their interconnection with local networks are within the scope of the call. Any costs for operating the infrastructure during its lifetime and extra components at the landing sites not required for the basic end-to-end connectivity such as data centres, hosting facilities and other services will be excluded under the call.

• For Studies, all preparatory work required prior to signing a contract with a supplier, such as marine ground surveys for submarine cables and application for required permits, will be covered under this call.

The evaluation of proposals shall prioritise those offering the higher level of wholesale access to third parties. Proposals must therefore include a description of whether or how they intend to provide wholesale access to third parties. Amongst others, this description may indicate the range of access products, the duration of the access, the method to determine access prices and the business model implemented (wholesale only or others). These elements will be taken into account in the evaluation of the proposal, in particular to assess its expected impact on competition.

Beneficiaries can take the form of consortia, including (local) operators, utilities, (local) authorities, investors and vendors.

All proposals must describe the ownership of the supported infrastructure after completion of the project and describe the mechanism that will be used to provide services, including business models. In particular, any arrangements foreseen to guarantee the provision of services on a non-discriminatory basis to access seekers, as well as the operational relationship(s) between the different participants in the value chain for providing services should be elaborated in the proposal.

Proposals funded under this topic may include synergetic (ancillary) elements relating to another sector of the CEF programme, i.e. energy and transport, if these synergetic elements allow to significantly improve the socio-economic, climate or environmental benefits of the action. CEF co-funding may be provided as long as the cost of these synergetic elements does not exceed 20% of the total eligible costs of the action.

Please consult the Call document for more information on the scope, including digital security requirements.

The expected benefits go beyond those directly related to supported projects and contribute to bridging the digital divide and ensuring widespread access to Gigabit networks for all EU citizens and businesses. Moreover, this connectivity infrastructure can cross-facilitate the implementation of other topics supported under CEF Digital, such as the availability of HPC-related facilities, etc.

Key performance indicators for this topic will include: i) the total length of the backbone or (for wireless solutions) the distance between transmission/reception stations, and ii) the additional (significant) transmission capacity created as a result of the projects supported by CEF. For submarine cables the number of fibre pairs, the current capacity per fibre pair, as well as the technology chosen and whether the system is repeated or unrepeated should be mentioned in the proposal, too.