Draft BEREC report on challenges and drivers of NGA rollout and infrastructure competition

Today, a high-capacity communication infrastructure is indispensable for the functioning of an economy and a society. In Europe, there is a broad consensus among all parties (the European Commission (EC), national and regional governments, regulatory agencies, communication providers) that the rollout of next generation access (NGA) networks is a desirable goal. With its 2020 Digital Agenda for Europe, the European Commission has set out targets for NGA coverage and take-up.

Moreover, European countries have individually defined rollout strategies and devote efforts towards the swift rollout of new high capacity infrastructures. Having the common objective of extending NGA coverage, the type and speed of NGA rollout varies considerably across European countries. A number of factors seem to greatly influence the specific deployment of NGA, namely the chosen NGA structure, the technologies deployed and also the pace at which rollout takes place.

This report is motivated by this very variation in NGA rollout: It provides an overview of where MS stand right now in terms of NGA rollout and investigates the main drivers and challenges. The factor analysis is based on a case study approach, drawing on information obtained from NGA stories provided by NRAs.