The Gigabit Infrastructure Act (“GIA”) is an EU Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1309) designed to remove regulatory barriers and reduce deployment costs for gigabit broadband and 5G infrastructure across the EU.  The GIA forms a key part of the EU’s Digital Decade 2030 strategy and replaces the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive (Directive 2014/61/EU). 

The GIA introduces some key changes that will enhance transparency, simplify procedures for the deployment of new physical communications infrastructure and simplify access to existing physical infrastructure, enabling the rollout of faster and more reliable connectivity, including the rollout of very high-capacity networks (“VHCNs”).  Collectively, these measures will materially impact how businesses and developers plan, permit, and deliver digital infrastructure projects and will significantly boost infrastructure capacity, promoting more effective connectivity and stronger competition across the network.

The GIA entered into force on 11 May 2024 and will become fully applicable across all EU Member States, including Ireland, from 12 November 2025.

Application to network operators and other infrastructure owners

TThe GIA applies to “network operators”, which includes:

• operators authorised to provide a public electronic communications network or associated facility (which includes physical infrastructures such as buildings, antennae, towers and other supporting constructions, ducts, conduits, masts, manholes and cabinets); and
• undertakings providing physical infrastructure intended to provide: (i) a service of production, transport or distribution of gas, electricity, heating or water; and (ii) transport services.  

The GIA also applies to public sector bodies that own or control physical infrastructure.  As such, the range of undertakings that are subject to the requirements of the GIA is much broader than under previous regulations designed to facilitate the deployment of VHCNs.  

Improving access to infrastructure

The GIA requires network operators and public sector bodies owning or controlling physical infrastructure to meet “all reasonable requests for access to physical infrastructure”. This access must be provided on “fair and reasonable terms and conditions”. Examples of the criteria to be taken into account when determining such terms and conditions are set out in Article 3.4 of the GIA and include:

• Existing contracts and commercial terms and conditions agreed between operators seeking access and network operators;
• The need to ensure that the access provider has a fair opportunity to recover the cost it incurs in order to provide access to its physical infrastructure;
• Any additional maintenance and adaptation costs resulting from providing access to the relevant physical infrastructure;
• The impact of the requested access on the access provider’s business plan; and
• Considering the operators’ need for a fair return on investment which reflects the relevant market conditions.

Access requirements under other regulatory frameworks are primarily targeted at identifying and addressing competitive bottlenecks in communications markets through remedies imposed on operators with “significant market power” (“SMP”). The GIA adopts a more expansive approach, requiring all network operators to comply with access requests and transparency obligations.

Article 3.3 of the GIA introduces more stringent access requirements in rural areas, aiming to accelerate connectivity where it has traditionally been lacking. This allows Member States to require owners of private commercial buildings to accommodate reasonable requests for access to those buildings to install network infrastructure on their rooftops. This will allow for an increase in connectivity and enable swift corrections to competition in local markets.

The GIA further enhances access to physical infrastructure by encouraging the shared use of existing infrastructure, as well as encouraging coordination with ongoing public works. This allows for more efficient deployment of connectivity infrastructure and prevents unnecessary duplication of cost or labour.

Increasing transparency

Article 4.1 of the GIA introduces a suite of transparency measures designed to facilitate access requests made to infrastructure providers. Certain “minimum information”, including geo-referenced location and route, type and current use of infrastructure and a contact point, must be accessible under proportionate, non-discriminatory and transparent terms. This information must in any event be provided within 10 working days of an access request, enabling mobile network operators (“MNOs”) to identify suitable sites for enhancing connectivity throughout each Member State.

Article 4.2 of the GIA further mandates that Member States have access to information on existing physical infrastructure. This will help to inform on the connectivity status at a national level.

The Article 4 transparency requirements will work in tandem with the access requirements introduced under Article 3. Together, they provide MNOs with a more comprehensive understanding of the infrastructure available to them, enabling them to make better informed decisions about the most suitable sites for the roll-out of services.

Streamlining process for permits and consents

The GIA streamlines the process for granting permits required for the deployment of VHCNs, and goes significantly further than the BCRD in seeking to reduce regulatory/administrative blockers to the rollout of high-capacity communications networks.  In particular, Articles 7 to 9 of the GIA prevent Member States from unduly restricting or hindering the deployment of VHCNs and requires them to make their “best efforts” to apply consistent procedures nationwide when granting such permits and rights of way.  These permit-granting provisions must be transposed at a national level, and Member States must report to the European Commission every three years on the status of implementation of Article 7.

The GIA also introduces a four-month deadline for national authorities to issue decisions on applications for permits required for the deployment of VHCNs. The default position under the GIA is for tacit approval whereby the permit is deemed granted if a decision is not issued within this timeframe. It will be possible, however, for individual Member States to derogate from that position and instead include a compensation mechanism or a right to litigate the matter.

It is expected that this streamlined approach will enable both current operators and new entrants to continue to expand connectivity across Ireland.

Implementation

The GIA will have full force and direct applicability across the EU, including in Ireland, from 12 November 2025. The Member States must, however, adopt national implementing legislation to transpose certain provisions of the GIA, including the permit-granting and access provisions. The precise form this implementing legislation will take across the EU remains to be seen. A GIA Steering Group (“GIASG”) has been established to facilitate and supervise the implementation of the GIA in Ireland.  The GIASG offers a forum for the Department for Communications to collaborate with industry, regulators and local authorities on a variety of matters arising from the implementation of the GIA.  The deadline for full implementation in Ireland is May 2026, and the GIA will be subject to a review by the European Commission in May 2028.

For further information, please contact a member of Arthur Cox’s Telecoms Group.

Many thanks to Isabel Gallagher for her contributions to this article