Broadband Internet will gain special attention in EU’s Juncker Plan

The European Investment Bank has set aside a dedicated part of the European Fund for Strategic Investment (known as the Juncker Plan) budget to target broadband funding in rural areas, EurActiv reveals. The programme could be up and running in about a year. One of the sectors covered in the Juncker Plan, launched by the European Commission last year, is ICT infrastructure and broadband. The plan is expected to inject €315 billion into the EU’s economy by 2018. The portal reported that officials behind the Juncker Plan are seeking to increase the share of loans going into broadband and are developing a new method of awarding loans.