Ten European countries, including eight EU states, are currently expected to be able to decommission their copper networks by 2030. That’s what the European Regulatory Board for Electronic Communications (GEREC) writes in its draft second progress report on copper-fibre migration published on Wednesday. In 14 countries, eleven of which are in the EU, network operators with significant market share have not yet announced any shutdown plans.
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This means that things are not looking good for the EU Commission’s plan to switch to fiber optics throughout the community by 2030. The institution, also known as Berek, describes the target, included in the Brussels regulatory body’s white paper on building the digital infrastructure of tomorrow’s Europe, as “extremely ambitious”. Such guiding brands are clearly “not the most appropriate instrument to deal with the very different situations in individual Member States”.
draft reportThe report, which can be commented on until January 31, is based on a survey conducted in the spring in which 31 European regulatory authorities, including the responsible offices of the Federal Network Agency, participated in 27 EU states. According to the authors, the results point to “significant progress in the expansion and use of fiber optics at the European level”. When it comes to migration and copper shutdowns, the data suggests “some” improvements after 2022. There has been a significant increase in the number of countries where national regulators have set guidelines for the transition process. There has also been an increase in the number of states in which at least parts of the copper network is already in place.
Liechtenstein: copper from 2024
Furthermore, almost half of the operators with significant market power have announced that they intend to completely or completely shut down their legacy networks. These include corporations from Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Sweden. However, most of them believe that this will be possible only after 2030. In this country, top dog Deutsche Telekom has not yet given any relevant date. This also applies to the ex-monopolies of Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia and Romania. The small non-EU country of Liechtenstein is the furthest along, with the change expected to take place by the end of the year, according to the national regulator. In the EU, officials in Cyprus, Denmark, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Portugal and Sweden expect migration to end by 2030.
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Gerek describes difficulties in avoiding forced migration as the main problem identified in the first shutdown measures ever implemented in Europe. Some challenges also arise during change. So far, in all leading countries, “a certain percentage of end users have had to be forcibly shut down,” leading to protests and moratoriums. On the other hand, longer notice periods and efficient communication are said to have had a positive impact. Problems such as interruptions in communication services during technological migration arose only in a few countries.
The key steps national regulators took before the copper shutdown were to educate affected households and ensure the availability of appropriate alternative bulk access products and related access services to consumers at a “comparable” price. Gerek still generally believes that proper security is essential for end users in relevant projects. The EU Council of Ministers has just revealed that the switch-off of copper to support gigabit expansion can only happen gradually.
Angaa: Germany is in danger of slipping in terms of fast networks
Associations of telecom competitors in this country are demanding a plan for “future-proofing” and a smooth transition. “Maximum transparency into telcos’ plans to decommission copper networks” is required. Magenta Group itself recently warned that it risked a “forced change of supplier” if it said goodbye to copper. The Federal Network Agency promised to develop a concept for migration together with the Digital Ministry.
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Philipp Müller, managing director of broadband association Anga, fears in the wake of Gereck’s observation that Germany is in danger of “sliding rapidly into the middle zone in terms of fast internet”. Reason: Switchover of old copper network of telecom stock. Talking about preparations, Germany is lagging behind in the group along with Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia. France, Spain and the Scandinavian countries are “far ahead of us.” “The clock is ticking for the biggest telecommunications infrastructure project of this decade,” Mueller says, urging us to hurry. The Federal Network Agency should submit documentation of its declared key issues as soon as possible. There should be no further delays due to traffic lights being closed.
(FDS)
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