In order to improve the mobile connection of railway travellers in (generally) sparsely populated areas, the Minister of Telecommunications has launched subsidies for the existing GSM-E masts. The purpose is to make them 5G ready so that they can be used by commercial mobile network operators.
The subsidies can also be used to fund 5G antennas to provide additional coverage of railway lines when
- adding antennas on existing masts of operators;
- adjusting the azimuth of existing antennas on operators' masts.
The budget for this call for projects amounts to 11.2 million EUR and covers a portion of the capital expenditure related to upgrading masts and adding or modifying antennas.
At the request of the Minister of Telecommunications, the FPS Economy, SMEs, Self-Employed and Energy is organising a public consultation on the text for the call for projects.
- The public consultation will be held over a period of 30 days (from 23 June to 23 July 2023).
- To receive the documents, please send an e-mail to the FPS Economy.