European Commission - Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology

06/16/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 06/17/2025 12:03

European fund reaches over a million premises passed with fibre in rural and semi-rural Europe

The Connecting Europe Broadband Fund (CEBF) has reached the milestone of a million premises passed with fibre broadband in underserved rural and semi-rural parts of Europe - boosting progress towards the Digital Decade policy goal of a more connected and digitally inclusive Europe.

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The Fund has helped to significantly boost deployment of high-speed broadband in digitally deprived areas of Europe, supporting EU ambition for an inclusive digital transition for all Europeans. In Slovenia one in ten of all dwellings were connected to broadband by projects funded by the CEBF; while in Croatia it is 8.6% of all homes; 3.1% in Spain; and 0.9% in Italy. By 2030, as part of the Digital Decade, the goal is for every home in the EU to be connected to fibre broadband. In 2025, we stand at a coverage level of 69.2% households with initiatives such as the CEBF helping accelerate the rollout.

In the next three to five years CEBF aims to deploy fibre to a further 800,000 premises with the target of connecting two million premises. Investment in fibre broadband in rural and semi-rural areas helps unlock considerably more investment in the regions with every euro invested expected to trigger a further eight euros in private sector investment.

Established in 2018, the CEBF is managed by Cube Infrastructure Managers (Cube IM) with the backing of public investors including the European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB), and National Promotional Banks and Institutions from France, Germany and Italy. It was the first EU fund fully dedicated to the roll out of broadband infrastructure. Under CEBF, EU funds from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (the predecessor of InvestEU) are pooled, with a view to de-risk investments and maximise the leverage of private funds to support the connectivity policies of the Union.

The CEBF's eligibility criteria includes all EU Member States, as well as Norway, Iceland, and the United Kingdom, ensuring a broad geographic reach. So far, the fund's portfolio is made up of seven projects across Europe: Rune Crow (Croatia), Rune Enia (Slovenia), Vento Rede (Spain), Unifiber (Italy), Asteo (Spain), Fibernet (Finland), and Clio Fiber (Italy). It also supported fibre projects connecting a further 225,000 premises in different projects.

In the next three to five years CEBF aims to deploy fibre to a further 800,000 premises. In total this would result in the passing of fibre to two million premises. Investment in fibre broadband in rural and semi-rural areas helps unlock considerably more investment in the regions with every euro invested expected to trigger a further eight euros in private sector investment.

Related topics

Broadband Digital connectivity Funding for Digital Digital Decade
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