5G coverage along transport corridors - Works

This topic targets actions that support investments in challenging areas, where market forces alone will not deliver 5G services with the necessary quality of service, and focus on the provision of such connectivity along key European transport paths including, but not limited to, the indicative list of 5G corridors in the Annex part V of the CEF Regulation. The priority for the first three years of this work programme, including this call, will be to support investment in cross-border sections involving two or more Member States, with a co-funding rate of 50%.

In case of co-funding by national funds (i.e., Cohesion Funds and the Recovery and Resilience Facility - RRF), State aid rules within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU (see section 10 of the Work Programme for details) apply.

Applicants may apply for grants for works, including studies, related to project costs covering the following categories:

• Deployment of passive network elements including civil works, e.g. ducts, dark fibre, 5G radio station, mast and pylons.
• Deployment and installation of active network elements, e.g. antennae, storage and computing capabilities such as network controllers, routers, switch, exchanges, edge MEC/node etc.
• Deployment and installation of specific track side devices (e.g. road, rail) for connected and automated mobility use cases, such as sensors, cameras etc. for traffic monitoring purposes, including connected road-side units.
• Preparatory works, including network planning.

The 5G connectivity infrastructure deployment proposed for funding under this call may encompass both passive and active network elements along transport paths that cross at least one border between two Member States.

The corridor length foreseen for deployment or study on both/all sides of the border may vary, depending on national circumstances including the length of TEN-T comprehensive networks in the relevant Member State, means of transport, geographic situation, and maximum size of the project/EU funding.

Proposals concerning the same Member State may include cross-border sections of 5G corridors with other Member States representing up to 15% of the total length of all the TEN-T comprehensive corridors of the same category (road, rail or waterways) in the Member State concerned by the proposal. In the presence of a demonstrated market failure, longer cross-border sections (i.e. beyond the above mentioned 15% threshold) as well as sections located inside of a Member State territory could be considered. This possibility may be particularly relevant in the case of Member States where the length of TEN-T comprehensive corridors is limited.

The above 15% threshold or the need to justify the presence of a market failure do not apply to proposals designed as market-conform interventions.

Please consult the Call document for more information on the scope, including digital security requirements.