To be allocated within the 2nd work programme (2024-2027):
The digital strand of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF Digital) is part of the second generation of the Connecting Europe Facility. CEF-Digital aims to leverage public and private investments in digital connectivity infrastructures of common European interest.
Investing in cross-border connectivity will continue playing a key role in Europe’s transformation and its competitiveness.
- 22 October 2024Call 4 opening
- 12 November 2024Call 4 info day
- 13 February 2025Call 4 closing
- 27 March 2025EuroQCI call 4 closing
- Autumn 2025Call 4 results
The part of CEF Digital managed by HaDEA provides grants in the following areas:
5G coverage along transport corridors Funding 5G coverage along transport paths such as roads and railways to leverage further investments and establish a pan-European transport network of 5G corridors. In the framework of the second Work Programme, this topic transitions to 5G Large Scale Pilots – 5G coverage along transport corridors, supporting the deployment of large scale 5G stand-alone infrastructures along key European transport paths and the TEN-T network corridor. |
5G and Edge Cloud for Smart Communities Supporting the early 5G deployment and edge infrastructure to enable cases for socio-economic drivers, such as public administrations, healthcare centres, schools and other education and training institutions and make them “smarter”. In the framework of the second Work Programme, this topic transitions to 5G large scale pilots – 5G and Edge Cloud for Smart Communities, supporting the deployment of large scale stand-alone 5G networks and their integration with edge cloud infrastructures enabling innovative applications in areas such as healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, and education. |
Backbone networks for pan-European cloud federations CEF Digital supports the deployment of cross-border and national cloud, edge and HPC infrastructure interconnections at both the physical (i.e. very high-capacity networks) and functional levels (i.e. DNS resolution) to enable distributed, secure, energy-efficient and high-speed infrastructure and cloud services for EU citizens and businesses. |
Backbone connectivity for Digital Global Gateways Supporting the deployment of l backbone networks within and between Member States (including Overseas Countries and Territories and Outermost Regions) as well as between the EU and third countries, to strengthen the quality and resilience of connectivity between EU countries and beyond. |
Quantum communication infrastructure (EuroQCI) Promoting quantum communication infrastructure interconnections to build an integrated satellite and terrestrial system spanning the whole EU for ultra-secure exchange of cryptographic keys. |
Supporting hardware and software infrastructures to promote real-time exchange of data in the energy and transport sectors across European Union. |
News
Connecting Europe Facility - Digital Call 4 closed on 13 February with a budget of €233 million for 5G Large-Scale Pilots and Backbone connectivity for Digital Global Gateways. It drew an impressive total of 321 partners responding with 85 proposals.
HaDEA is gearing up for the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025, happening from 3 to 6 March at Fira Gran via in Barcelona. As the world’s biggest event for the mobile communications industry, MWC brings together over 100 000 companies, government representatives, investors, and startups.
Awarded in 2022 within CEF Digital’s “backbone networks for pan-European cloud federations” topic, the project DNS4EU is deploying the first EU-wide protective DNS ecosystem for public services. This will contribute to and strengthen European sovereignty.
One of the key contributions of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Telecom programme over its 10 years lifespan has been the development of technological solutions driven by the availability of public data. Discover the SPOTTED project, part of the public open data portfolio managed by HaDEA.