National broadband network to tap into pension fund?
PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp
16.09.2013 09:15
Head of the administration and digitisation ministry, Michal Boni, has proposed that the OFE pension fund support the construction of fibre-optic cable networks in Poland.
The suggestion comes as the country’s ‘National Broadband Scheme’ aims to provide Internet speeds of 100 Mb/s to over 50 percent of Poles by 2020 – a move which is in line with the EU’s ‘Digital Agenda’.
However, the cost of building such infrastructure is prohibitive, and as such Michal Boni told MPs in the Sejm lower parliamentary house that the network “will need a revival in terms of investment.”
“We propose that when the OFE investments are directed towards the capital market […], a special fund may be created which will collect money from pension funds and issue bonds, but in turn gaining funds for telecommunications investments,” Boni said last week.
According to the ministry’s plans, some 35,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cables are to be laid by mid-2015, while the project will swallow up to 26 billion zloty (6.5 billion euro).
Meanwhile, the Puls Biznesu daily reports that OFE representatives are open to Boni’s idea, and are waiting for further information. (jb)
Source: IAR/mac.gov.pl