The main purpose of monitoring infrastructure investment is to help investors in electronic communications networks to get their investment projects - broadband - off the ground. For citizens, this is primarily about better internet access, and the results of a number of unrelated studies (European Investment Bank, World Bank, Ericsson) have shown that this has a direct impact on raising GDP in the country itself.
The Agency's long-term vision is to contribute to the further infrastructural development of electronic communications networks in Slovenia and to promote healthy competition between operators in this area as well. This can be achieved by providing the appropriate information basis for the market players (operators), while at the same time ensuring fair rules of the game between providers at the investment stage by means of legal instruments.
Global and European trends in infrastructure development are extremely vibrant. European policy makers are also looking to this, with the Digital Decade and Digital Compass 2030: Europe's path to the Digital Decade programmes aiming to make gigabit speed networks available to all end-users in the EU who need or want this capacity. The European Commission's Gigabit Infrastructure Act sets out a framework to support the faster, more cost-effective and simpler deployment of gigabit networks. In doing so, it highlights the promotion of sharing and transparency of existing physical infrastructure, the strengthening of coordination and transparency in construction works, and the streamlining and digitisation of administrative processes as among the key actions to rationalise the deployment of these networks.
The Agency, as the national regulator of the electronic communications market, is aware of the above, and in this area it seeks to improve the conditions for the implementation of superfast digital connections to households in the Republic of Slovenia, in accordance with the powers conferred on the Agency by the ZEKom-2, through the following activities:
- setting up and operating a portal for the publication of intentions to build public utility infrastructure. The portal is available at: http://investicije.akos-rs.si/,
- conducting workshops and consultations to raise awareness of obliged parties on the obligations in the field of joint construction and sharing of utility infrastructure,
- systematic monitoring of the implementation of the obligations on joint construction and sharing of public utility infrastructure by the obliged entities,
- technical analysis and general acts on joint construction and sharing of public utility infrastructure,
- raising the awareness of the owners of the utility infrastructure of the importance and need to register their communication infrastructure in the utility infrastructure catalogue,
- systematic monitoring of the registration of communication infrastructure in the Register of Utilities,
- monitoring of the openness of broadband networks and the fulfilment of network construction obligations in the event of demonstrated market interest,
- verification of easement agreements for the sharing of built infrastructure.