EU Policy. Countries behind in almost all 2030 connectivity targets
An updated report with 2030 connectivity targets will be published in June.
By Cynthia Kroet
Published on 23/02/2024 – 15:45
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Last year’s State of the Digital Decade Report said that the 2030 target was lagging – this year’s figures paint a similar picture.
EU countries are behind in meeting connectivity targets set out by the European Commission for the next decade, according to minutes seen by Euronews.
The preliminary data shows that just over half (55%) of the 2030 goals are on track to be met across the board. On the roll-out of very high-capacity networks, just 11 of 23 countries seem on course to reach the required target ensuring all the population has access to gigabit coverage and 5G networks are deployed in all populated areas.
In addition, numbers are low on ICT specialists, take-up of cloud services by companies, and digital public services for citizens.
The minutes lay out the readiness of the 27 EU member states ahead of a State of the Digital Decade report, scheduled to come out in June.
Last year, the commission published its first report, taking stock of EU-wide and national governments’ performance on digital skills and infrastructure as well as digitalisation of businesses and the use of AI. That report said that the 2030 target was lagging, and this year’s figures paint a similar picture.
The updated Digital Decade paper, which is set to come out just before the summer, will look both at the EU’s 2019-2024 legacy as well as challenges ahead for the next mandate.
In order to prepare for this year’s stocktaking, countries had to send updated national figures to the commission by February, but the document shows that only 23 capitals did so.
Brussels’ new digital strategy comes ‘way too late’, MEP warns
DNA
In a whitepaper presented this week (21 February), the commission launched discussions on future of digital networks, paving the way for a new telecom law in the next mandate. One of the twelve possible scenarios mentioned in the document is easing the environment for European telecom companies to operate across EU borders.
The EU executive has frequently warned about low 5G deployment. Fibre networks, which are critical for delivering gigabit connectivity, reached 56% of households, the commission said in its update last year. In addition, the executive predicted that by 2030 only 66% of businesses will use cloud, 34% big data and 20% AI.
