Evaluation of the Broadband Initiative BMLRT 2017-2018

A total budget of 980 million € is available for Broadband Austria 2020. Approximately 683 million € in funding was budgeted for the calls initiated in Phases 1 (2015-16) and 2 (2017-18), of which 467 million € or almost 68 percent was actually drawn down in Phases 1 and 2 by 173 funding recipients with 692 projects. This leaves a funding volume of 513 million € for phase 3 (2019-20). At 265 million €, most of the funding went to the Access program line (257 projects, 26 applicants), while 88 million € each went to Backhaul (171 projects, 21 applicants) and Leerrohr (235 projects, 155 applicants). Access-ELER played a minor role with only 25 million € (29 projects, 9 project applicants). At the end of Phase 2, only just under 50 percent of the budgeted subsidies had been disbursed instead of the planned 70 percent. This is due on the one hand to the delayed start of the programs in 2015, and on the other hand to the incomplete utilization of the respective advertised funding.