If the Seimas approves the legal acts mentioned above, it will facilitate investment in the planned high-bandwidth network infrastructure, making it more attractive for market players to invest and for new entrants to enter the market, which will, in turn, lead to greater competition.
At the same time, the regulator of the electronic communications market would be able to effectively ensure efficient access to high-bandwidth networks for market players, which would have the effect of reducing prices and the provision of quality services. The entry into force of the amendments to the Law on Electronic Communications, an obligation to provide consumers with affordable, sufficient broadband access will be established.
“This draft law creates an obligation to guarantee that socially vulnerable groups have access to broadband and Internet services. This will be a major change, which will be available and should be guaranteed to every citizen of the country”, states Agnė Vaiciukevičiūtė, Vice-Minister of Transport and Communications.
The provisions of the Law on Electronic Communications establish the procedures and conditions for access to local radio networks, which will have to allow the installation of communication systems on public infrastructure (lighting poles, bus stops, road signs, etc.) free of charge and on equal terms for all market players. This aspect will be important for the rapid development of 5G networks in densely populated and populated urban areas. This will provide uninterrupted high-bandwidth connectivity, e.g. for stand-alone cars, video surveillance and transmission, remote device management, the development of the Internet of Things, and thus the development of smart cities.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications has planned to allocate EUR 49 million for the development of high-speed broadband in remote areas of the country in the Plan for Recovery and Resilience Framework (RRF) for the period 2021-2026, to build communication towers and fibre optic lines so that various socially and economically important institutions (educational and medical institutions, libraries, transport hubs, etc.), as well as digitally-oriented enterprises, and households can be connected to the high-speed broadband network. The aim is to enable all Lithuanian households to have access to 100 Mbps broadband for downloading by 2025. This will allow remote control of mechanisms, the transmission of high-resolution video information and enable virtual reality (training, telemedicine, etc.). It will also provide opportunities for new services, reduce regional exclusion and stimulate the creation of high value-added jobs.
Amendments to this law will enter into force after approval by the Seimas.
