Recital 13

(13) A sustainable digital infrastructure for connectivity, microelectronics and the ability to process big data are critical enablers for taking advantage of the benefits of digitalisation, for further technological developments and for digital leadership by the Union. In line with the Commission’s communication of 30 June 2021 entitled ‘A long-term Vision for the EU’s Rural Areas – Towards stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas by 2040’, reliable, fast and secure connectivity for everybody and everywhere in the Union, including in rural and remote areas, such as islands and mountainous and sparsely-populated regions, as well as the outermost regions, is needed. Societal needs for converging upload and download bandwidth are constantly growing. By 2030, networks with gigabit speeds should become available to those who need or wish to have such capacity. All Union end-users should be able to use gigabit services provided by networks at a fixed location deployed up to the network termination point. Moreover, all populated areas should be covered by a next-generation wireless high-speed network with performance at least equivalent to that of 5G. All market actors benefiting from the digital transformation should assume their social responsibilities and make a fair and proportionate contribution to the public goods, services and infrastructures, for the benefit of all citizens in the Union.

← Recital 12 · All articles · Recital 14 →

Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-08 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.