€7bn fibre broadband plan to be unveiled by EU

At least €7 billion (£6.1 billion) is set to be invested in fibre optic broadband rollouts across Europe under new plans from the European Commission.

The proposals, set to be officially announced on Wednesday (October 19th 2011), are intended to help EU member states achieve the Commission's target of 30Mbps broadband speeds for all by 2020.

It is hoped that the substantial investment will encourage private sector telecoms firms to stump up a minimum of €50 billion in additional funding for fibre broadband networks.

Speaking to BBC News, EU sources claimed each euro invested in high-speed broadband and related services will generate between €6 and €15 for national economies.

"Europe needs these fast broadband networks to allow its economy to become more competitive in the future and so create more jobs and prosperity," they added.

Figures published earlier this year by Idate showed there were almost 3.9 million fibre-to-the-home subscribers across Europe at the end of 2010, excluding Russia.