Digital connectivity: a pathway to transformation in the Eastern Partnership

With the growth of online provision of health, educational, financial, business and governance services, digital connectivity has become increasingly crucial to everyday life. Following a pathway to digital connectivity improvement in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region, EU4Digital Facility has been closely cooperating with the Eastern partner countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine since 2019. Together, they promote and facilitate access to high-speed, secure and sustainable digital connectivity at affordable prices for citizens and businesses. So, what has been achieved and how does this support wider policy goals for EaP digital transformation?

Connectivity has been a key area of policy for bringing the European Union and Eastern partner countries closer together since the 2017 Eastern Partnership Summit. As set forth three years later in the Joint Communication for Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020, investing in digital infrastructure is one of the key modes of physical connectivity that underpin economic development and the achievement of digital transformation in the Eastern Partnership.

To work towards digital connectivity targets, the EU4Digital Telecom Rules thematic area has been addressing various aspects of supporting the improvement and availability of digital highways, particularly in remote or less densely populated areas.

Strengthening cooperation and understanding

The first phase of EU4Digital Facility (2019-2022) focused on strengthening coordination and a common approach in roaming, regulation and mobile spectrum usage in close cooperation with the Independence of Regulators and Broadband Expert Working Group (IRB EWG) of the Eastern Partnership Electronic Regulators Network (EaPeReg), a group supported by the Facility. In the current, second phase of EU4Digital, one of the first steps towards better connectivity in the region has focused on understanding the current availability of fixed and mobile broadband internet access services, for instance, the proportion of the population in the Eastern partner countries that has access to high-speed internet.

In order to regularly assess internet connectivity in Eastern partner countries, a harmonised approach for monitoring internet access service indicators has been established. This monitoring approach is in line with ‘DESI’, the Digital Economy and Society Index, which was designed to monitor connectivity throughout the EU.

EU4Digital has also analysed best practices from case studies of five EU Member States in terms of promoting access to competitive broadband services. These were published in a report in September 2023 as a way to share experiences that Eastern partner countries may apply when monitoring broadband market developments and implementing broadband policies to fit their national needs.

Analysing electronic communications markets related to broadband is another vital approach to achieving better digital connectivity. It is absolutely necessary for these markets to offer competitive services to all citizens and businesses. “Carrying out market analysis in broadband access markets is essential to determine the competitive situation in these markets, such as barriers to entry, market dynamics, technological trends and, where appropriate, to identify operators with significant market power and further impose specific obligations,” explains Inga Popovici, Chair of IRB EWG of the EaPeReg.

Conducting analysis of broadband access markets will enable Eastern Partnership National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) and policymakers to identify the appropriate measures needed to facilitate competition in broadband markets and enable the efficient deployment of new physical infrastructure.

Inga Popovici, Chair of IRB EWG

From analysis to infrastructure to improvement

Based on the findings, broadband market analysis may help NRAs to identify any competitive shortcomings and introduce appropriate regulative measures to address issues, such as insufficient competition, limited choice of providers or services, high prices and low availability of networks.

EU4Digital will continue to support NRAs in the Eastern partner countries to perform the broadband market analysis as an important step towards the efficient deployment of new physical connectivity infrastructure.

EU4Digital Facility’s ongoing support helps to keep the vision of better connected Eastern Partner countries on the horizon, promising digital, social and economic improvement for the Eastern Partnership region and people.

Further information

Read the EU4Digital EU best practice report: promoting competitive broadband and find out more about the EU4Digital policy context.