The Republic of Austria has set itself the goal of achieving nationwide coverage with gigabit-capable VHCN connections by 2030. This goal requires both a strong commitment from market players to commercially viable fibre roll-out activities and the provision of public funds for subsidised expansion in areas that cannot be developed on a commercially viable basis.
As part of the BBA2030 broadband initiative, programme funds amounting to €1.03 billion have been allocated to date, of which €902 million – by far the largest share – has been allocated to the OpenNet programme.
The evaluation report assesses the experience gained with the BBA 2030 programme to date and examines whether and how the Austrian broadband targets can be achieved, taking into account initiatives at European level. It is based on
- the results of a large number of expert interviews with representatives of the funding body, the funding recipients, the implementing body, RTR and the federal states and local authorities,
- the evaluation of statistical data from various sources using descriptive and econometric statistical methods, and
- the analysis of publications, memos, decisions, and written and electronic conversations from various publicly and non-publicly available sources.
In addition to providing (preliminary) answers to the evaluation questions in accordance with the evaluation plan, recommendations for a possible extension of the programme are derived, the special features of the Austrian market are discussed, and the question of whether Austria will achieve the European connectivity targets is addressed. The conclusions include both concrete reform proposals for the programme design and the operational implementation of the funding within the framework of a possible extension, as well as approaches that could provide impetus for the commercially viable fibre roll-out in Austria.
