Commission launches consultation on guidance on the application of the Gigabit Infrastructure Act

The Commission initiated a targeted consultation to collect evidence and best practices to provide guidance, in close cooperation with BEREC, on the application of Article 3 of the Gigabit Infrastructure Act (GIA).

Input is being gathered from national regulatory authorities, Dispute Settlement Bodies (DSBs), network operators including electronic communications operators and service providers, industry associations, and individuals.

The Gigabit Infrastructure Act (GIA) seeks to facilitate the cost-efficient and timely deployment of very high-capacity networks (VHCNs) in the European Union in order to meet citizens' and businesses' increasing connectivity needs. Specifically, the GIA promotes the joint use of existing physical infrastructure and enables a more efficient deployment of new physical infrastructure so that such networks can be rolled out faster and at a lower cost.

Article 3 of the GIA addresses the issue of access to existing physical infrastructure, owned or controlled by network operators, public sector bodies and owners of private commercial buildings (where provided by Member States) as well as access to land of legal persons who are primarily active as tenants of land, or as holders of rights over land, other than property rights.

Article 3(13) of the GIA empowers the Commission, in close cooperation with BEREC, to provide guidance on the application of Article 3, after consulting relevant stakeholders and taking into account well-established principles and the distinct situation across Member States. The Commission guidance might include the application of fair and reasonable terms and conditions for access to physical infrastructure. The guidance could take into account the features of the network operators and their business model and, to the extent possible, take into account well-established principles and national dispute settlement bodies' procedural rules.

The guidance aims at facilitating access based on the GIA to physical infrastructure agreements between interested parties. They can also be helpful to DSBs when issuing binding decisions to resolve disputes falling within the scope of Article 3 of GIA.

This review is conducted in parallel to the preparation of the proposal of the upcoming Digital Networks Act (DNA) and it is based on the current framework. A separate and dedicated call for evidence on the DNA has been launched on 6 June 2025. The evidences and data gathered in this process may also be used for grounding the DNA proposal.

The call for evidence will remain open until 17 September 2025.

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