EU maps the investment gaps in its digital backbone

Summary

The tender was published on 9 October, having opened on 5 October, and closes on 13 November.
The study has an 18-month duration and maximum contract value of €400,000.
Four reports and a geographic network map will inform possible future funding decisions.

The European Commission is seeking a contractor to examine where Europe’s terrestrial and submarine backbone networks may need investment, with the resulting evidence intended to guide possible EU intervention rather than launch an immediate construction programme. The tender was published on 9 October after opening on 5 October, and bids close on 13 November 2026.

The study is expected to last 18 months and has a maximum contract value of €400,000. Those figures concern the research contract, not a fund for cables, fibre routes or data centre connections. The Commission wants to identify backbone projects of strategic European interest and establish which characteristics would justify classifying them that way.

Its first task is to map the main terrestrial and submarine networks serving EU territory. Building on previous work concerning Cable Projects of European Interest, the contractor must produce a comprehensive geographic information system map. That should provide a more consistent basis for examining how routes connect, where connectivity is concentrated and which areas merit closer examination.

Network topology alone, however, cannot establish whether more cables should be financed. Two routes may appear separate on a map but share a vulnerable landing point or corridor. Conversely, areas served by limited infrastructure may have insufficient demand to justify multiple commercial networks. A useful assessment has to distinguish the existence of capacity from its resilience and its economic value.

The second task looks ahead to requirements for redundancy, capacity, security, resilience and ownership. The Commission specifically identifies data centres, AI facilities and high-performance computing capacity as developments that could change connectivity needs. Their requirements will depend on where facilities are built, how they exchange information and whether they need geographically separate connections for continuity.

Ownership is included alongside technical criteria because the Commission wants to evaluate risks from losing European control of critical infrastructure. That concern is distinct from network performance: a connection may function well regardless of its owner, while decisions about investment, access and long-term control introduce separate strategic considerations. The tender asks for analysis of those risks, not a predetermined conclusion that every externally owned asset is unsuitable.

The third task is to identify investment needs and gaps for future backbone connectivity. This requires consideration of projects that could be strategically valuable yet difficult to finance commercially. Redundant routes, for example, may provide wider economic protection without generating the traffic required to repay their construction costs. Such a case still has to be demonstrated rather than assumed.

By contrast, a forecast increase in traffic does not automatically establish market failure. Operators may already have plans to expand capacity where customers will pay for it. Public intervention needs a different justification when the expected return is sufficient to attract private investment. Distinguishing these cases is central to the study’s stated purpose.

The fourth task concerns possible intervention under the proposed European Competitiveness Fund, including which financial instruments might suit particular strategic projects. The Commission asks the contractor to assess the full range of possible funding tools and their appropriate uses. It has not announced funding awards to specific backbone operators or named a funded list of routes.

The promised outputs are four standalone reports, covering the first two tasks, the following two tasks, a workshop and the final findings, together with the comprehensive network map. These outputs are intended to inform decisions under the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework, where any support for backbone infrastructure would compete with other budget priorities.

The Commission has asked tenderers to register through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal before submitting their proposals. For infrastructure investors and operators, the resulting evidence could influence which proposals are considered strategic and what gaps public money might reasonably address. For policymakers, it should also reveal where claims about digital dependence or insufficient connectivity are supported by mapped networks and projected needs. Until the study is completed, neither the extent of the investment shortfall nor the case for individual projects has been established by this procurement.