3.13. Preparation of houses for high-speed infrastructure Problem Identification The lack of required infrastructure in the family and multi-apartment buildings is currently, and will continue to be an obstacle to providing high-speed connectivity via public communications networks for the largest possible number of households, i.e. the fulfilment of objectives set in the Commission Communication to the European Parliament and Council COM (2016) 587-final and under the European Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) 2018/1972 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code. The current legal situation in the Czech Republic is such that new multi-apartment buildings must have an access point and internal physical infrastructure (Act No. 194/2017 Coll.). However, the current regulation does not address the fixed connection of single-apartment buildings, where the non-existing physical infrastructure allowing easy and fast connection of the building significantly reduces, or rules out entirely, the possibility to connect them, especially in areas with predominantly individual housing development. It is not realistic to expect significant improvement with regard to the existing singleapartment buildings, but for newly planned houses, measures must be proposed to eliminate this. In addition, also the Recitals to Directive 2014/61/EU measures to reduce the cost of deploying highspeed electronic communications networks where Clause 29 stipulates that due to the fact that the costs of installation of protective pipes (physical infrastructure element) during the development of the building are relatively low, while retrofitting of buildings with high-speed infrastructure can represent a significant part of the cost, all new or substantially renovated buildings should be equipped with a physical infrastructure enabling connectivity. A possible exception would only apply to buildings in isolated areas or buildings where the construction of infrastructure is very uneconomical. Proposed Measures Measure A Discussion over possible measures to promote the development of appropriate infrastructure for electronic communications networks in all buildings, i.e. both multi-apartment and single-apartment (family) houses, taking into account the principle of technological neutrality. Financial support by the state for owners of the existing houses to build suitable physical infrastructure (including access points) would be suitable a motivation measure. Other suitable measures include the development of an appropriate physical infrastructure for the future connection of a fixed electronic communications network in the construction of all new singleapartment buildings, or the introduction of an obligation for house owners to build a suitable physical infrastructure to build any other connection of the technical infrastructure for the house (i.e. to install, for example, an HDPE pipe in addition to the other infrastructure built – water, sewerage, electricity, gas – where the cost of co-placement of physical infrastructure will amount to tens and hundreds of crowns in most cases). There may be exceptions that would justify that physical infrastructure is not built, such as: when the prospects of high-speed connectivity is considered too distant for objective reasons to justify the development of a physical infrastructure where such equipment would be 29