📋 Tender Overview
The Digital Poland Project Center announces the launch of a new competition for co-financing the construction of a very fast Internet access network in the so-called white spots. Telecommunications entrepreneurs will have at their disposal over PLN 2 billion remaining under the National Reconstruction Plan. Thanks to these funds, by August 2026, at least 400,000 households may have access to high-speed Internet.
The proposals for competition conditions are the result of several months of work by experts from the Ministry of Digitization, the Digital Poland Project Center, the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy and the Office of Electronic Communications, as well as public consultations conducted from April 3 to May 6. The deadline for announcing the competition is also the result of withdrawals from contracts by the beneficiaries of previous competitions. The new competition also takes into account areas that were excluded from implementation as a result of these waivers.
More efficient project implementation
An analysis of the reasons for insufficient interest in previous KPO and FERC competitions showed that some requirements were too ambitious in the context of investment conditions. In response to these challenges, adjustments were made to the terms of the new competition to maximize the efficiency of project implementation and increase access to high-speed Internet for as many households as possible.
– Our goal is to provide all Poles with access to high-speed Internet, regardless of where they live. The new competition is a step towards equalizing digital opportunities and supporting socio-economic development throughout the country. Investing in internet infrastructure is crucial, and thanks to cooperation with the telecommunications sector, we will be able to effectively eliminate white spots on Poland's internet map. We believe that this project will bring benefits to both residents and the entire economy. We also know that we must provide companies with appropriate conditions to implement these extremely important projects, said the Minister of Digital Affairs, Krzysztof Gawkowski.
The changes introduced include:
competition areas are more "compact" in nature,
designating addresses with the lowest cost of coverage - the so-called the cut-off point was determined by the available allocation of funds,
the possibility for beneficiaries to choose which white spots they want to cover with the project, with the requirement to cover at least 75% of the competition area,
preferences for applicants who increase the number of white spots above the required 75%,
flexibility when investment barriers are encountered, allowing for other available white spots to be taken into account.
Additionally:
the importance of the criterion of applying for smaller funding than available in a given area has been limited - the effectiveness of spending public funds will be achieved through other mechanisms,
the rules for assessing investment experience have been changed - rewarding greater experience has been returned, while at the same time relating its value to the total funding requested in the competition (and not - as before - to each application separately),
a requirement to pay a deposit for certain categories of applicants was introduced to protect the process against a repetition of the situation from previous KPO and FERC competitions, after which many contracts were not concluded or contracts were withdrawn.
Conditions that remain unchanged:
settlement of projects in the unit rate formula, reducing formalities
unconditional indexation of the subsidy by the inflation rate appropriate for the telecommunications investment market.
Schedule
June 6 this year – starting the submission of applications for funding,
August 6 this year – end of accepting applications,
September this year – approximate date of publication of the competition results,
October this year – indicative deadline for concluding subsidy agreements.
