The European Investment Bank has agreed a €75 million loan to Austrian fibre infrastructure provider öGIG to expand high-speed broadband networks across six Austrian federal states, with a focus on rural areas.
The funding will support the rollout of “open-access” fibre networks in Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Styria, Upper Austria and Vorarlberg, the EIB informed on Tuesday.
Open-access means multiple internet service providers can use the same network, giving customers a choice of provider, it added.
The €75 million loan is the first tranche of planned EIB financing for the project, with commercial banks also involved.
The combined financing package from the EIB and commercial banks totals €225 million.
EIB Vice-President Karl Nehammer said rural communities needed “reliable, high-capacity connections just as much as cities do.”
InvestEU backing and company details
The EIB financing is backed by the European Union’s InvestEU programme, the bank said.
öGIG was founded in 2019 and is part of the Allianz Group.
The project aligns with the EU “Digital Decade” and Austria’s “Broadband Strategy 2030”, including a goal to provide all European households with gigabit connectivity by 2030.
