Czechia on track with 5G, but lags in building fibre networks [Advocacy Lab Content]

7 months ago 28

Although 5G network coverage looks good in the Czech Republic, construction is facing administrative hurdles. Czechia’s biggest problem is the pace of building fibre networks, where it is unlikely to meet its 2030 target.

According to data from the Czech Telecommunications Office (ČTÚ), over 96 per cent of the Czech population is currently connected to high-speed 5G internet. Czechia, therefore, on paper at least, already surpasses the 2025 target of 70 per cent population coverage.

At a glance, the Czech Republic isn’t behind the curve when it comes to area coverage either. At the end of last year alone, the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade provided funding for 29 projects that will cover “investment-intensive rural locations with 5G signals” in the coming years.

In principle, this means that even places where operators with the fastest networks cannot reach because their investments are not worthwhile in terms of return will be covered by 5G signals. This is what the ideal scenario would look like.

However, as the Association of Mobile Service Providers (APMS), which represents operators responsible for preparing and operating 5G (and other) connections explains, the Czech Republic faces numerous barriers, mainly administrative, to achieving these goals.

“We are ready to invest significantly in network development in the Czech Republic, but legislation is holding us back. Permitting processes, which take months in neighbouring countries, take several years in the Czech Republic,” APMS chairman Jiří Grund told Euractiv.cz.

Construction, process and stakeholders

These problems are also mentioned by the Czech regulator of mobile networks, the Czech Telecommunications Office. “The main problem of building 5G networks is currently related to the construction itself – i.e. mainly the process and duration of the construction procedure, negotiations with landowners, municipalities [and others],” spokesperson Tereza Meravá told Euractiv.cz.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade, which is responsible for telecommunications, is addressing these problems. “Many aspects have already been eliminated or mitigated with the help of the implementation of specific measures, such as those from the Action Plan 2.0 or the introduction of digitalisation of construction procedures. A positive contribution will be the adoption of the EU regulation on gigabit infrastructure,” ministry spokesman David Hluštík said.

Slow pace of building fibre networks

But 5G is not the only area where the Czech Republic needs to catch up with its western neighbours, the other is fixed internet connections with speeds of 1 GB/s or more.

And this is where the gap between the Czech Republic and Western Europe is widest. Only about 12 out of every 100 Czechs have any kind of fixed internet connection, compared to the EU average of one in five.

An even bigger difference is in the availability of fibre optic internet, the most modern and fastest technology. Only 37 per cent of Czech households have fibre optic coverage, compared to the EU average of 57 per cent. The Czech countryside is the worst off, with only eight per cent of households having fibre optics, compared to an EU average of over 40 per cent.

“The strategic goal of the Czech Republic is to have 100 per cent of households with a 1 GB/s connection by 2030. The growth rate of construction in the Czech Republic is a maximum of two per cent per year. It is therefore obvious that by 2030 we will not have more than 50 percent of households in the Czech Republic with a 1 GB/s connection,” said Jiří Grund from APMS.

Getting better

According to Rostislav Kocman, chairman of the Czech Association of Electronic Communications (ČAEK), the lack of fast connections does not mean Czechs have slow internet in general.

“According to the statistics and measurements of the ČTÚ, the average speed and volume of data transferred in fixed networks in our country is growing and is continuously accelerating. In the so-called white spots (without any internet), subsidy-supported very high-capacity networks (VHCN) are going to be built,” Kocman described to Euractiv.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade says it is tackling the construction of new high-speed internet connections.

“In the liberalised market in the Czech Republic and the EU, network construction is fully within the competence of electronic communications entrepreneurs. The ministry is actively supporting the construction of fibre-optic networks, for example, through a subsidy call for the construction of connections, especially for households,” David Hluštík said on behalf of the ministry.

Sixth-generation connections

While the Czech Republic is still dealing with fibre optic and 5G connections, plans for sixth-generation connections are already emerging around the world. However, this is not yet a reality in the Czech Republic.

“Although 6G networks are already mentioned, often as a marketing term, it is important for the Czech Republic to move forward with further building of optical networks, in addition to meeting the targets for coverage of the population and territory with fifth-generation networks,” said Tereza Meravá, spokesperson for the ČTÚ.

[By Dávid Pásztor I Translated by Ondřej Plevák translated I Edited by Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab ]