“We are well prepared for negotiations and could even start tomorrow” but “our British colleagues need more time to prepare themselves”.
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European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker insisted the EU referendum result on June 23 meant “something was wrong in Britain”.
Unlike the United Kingdom government’s broadband commitment, which pledges superfast connections to 95% of premises, and a universal service obligation (USO) of 10Mb, the EU’s reform package covers everywhere – including remote areas.
But while many publishers welcomed the Commission’s plan, Internet companies were less enthused.
The second proposal by Juncker calls for all European households (rural and urban) to have access to connections of at least 100Mbps, which can be upgraded to a gigabit connection.
European Union officials have stressed these proposals will not mean all soldiers will wear the same uniform but rather involve increased co-operation that could “revive long-running efforts to reduce reliance on the US” and save member states “up to €100bn a year”, reports Reuters.
Finally, the third proposal says that all major roads and railways should have “uninterrupted 5G coverage”.
Just how much would these plans cost then? Based on current trends, a shortfall of €155-billion was expected. Juncker, one of the EU bureaucrats sporting the title of president-the bloated EU bureaucracy has several presidents of its various arms, all of whom show up to greet the visiting president of an independent country-is upset that Britain has chosen Brexit rather than continue to submit to the stream of regulations he churns out, or accommodate the immigrants that membership in the EU would require.
Although acknowledging that the speech – delivered in Strasbourg on 14 September – “set [s] out a plan to strengthen investment to support jobs and growth, specifically through an extension and amplification of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)”, the EUA argues that “vital areas for investment…should be given higher priority”.
The EU also wants to deploy 5G, the fifth generation of mobile communication systems, across the European Union by 2025.
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Funding is another issue, with the European Union saying there will be a maximum pot of €120 million (around £100 million) to help councils with the provision of free Wi-Fi, with that money going towards installation costs, and councils themselves expected to fork out for subscription charges, and ongoing maintenance.
