Rapid access to the fixed Internet for all citizens and businesses is a key element in the development of the national economy. Luxembourg is in the privileged position of having an extremely high penetration of fiber optic infrastructure in a “fiber-to-the-home” architecture, as POST has been investing in fiber deployment since 1997, connecting buildings with hybrid cables that combine copper and fiber optics. Additionally, the country has a very high coverage rate in coaxial cable, also gearing up for the provision of ultra-high-speed internet.
In 2010, the Luxembourg government drew up a national strategy for ultra-high-speed networks, which has been updated by the current strategy "High-performance connectivity for all" covering the years 2021 to 2025. This new 2021 strategy has five objectives
- to make connectivity accessible to all,
- accelerate the transition of households and businesses to higher-performance, future-proof technologies,
- accelerate the deployment of future-proof infrastructures, while respecting technological neutrality,
- improve transparency and strengthen consumer protection,
- develop Luxembourg as a first-choice platform for the ICT services of today and tomorrow.
Ultra-high-speed in Luxembourg: current situation
To help reduce investment costs and speed up the rollout of next-generation networks, the Law of 22 March 2017 on measures to reduce the cost of deploying high-speed electronic communications networks provides for the following measures:
- Encouraging access to existing physical infrastructure
Operators of electronic communications networks may reuse, subject to conditions, existing physical infrastructures, including those of undertakings of other networks (such as the physical networks for electricity and gas supply, water supply, wastewater treatment and sewerage or heating systems) to set up electronic communications networks. This may prove advantageous in areas where it would not be economically viable to build a new physical infrastructure.
- The creation of a national works register
The coordination of civil engineering works through a national register of works can lead to significant savings and minimise the inconvenience of works on the surrounding area.
- Facilitating the modernisation of building equipment: Internal cabling
The law facilitates the deployment of cabling suitable for broadband inside buildings. To facilitate decision-making within the syndicate, work to install internal cabling suitable for broadband is exempt from the three-quarters majority requirement and is subject to the general system for decisions adopted by a simple majority of co-owners.