2. National and European Context The National Plan builds on the State Policy in Electronic Communications, Digital Czech Republic9, which inter alia highlighted the fact that electronic communications, through their networks and services, accelerate and improve the quality of communication, thus contributing towards the economic, cultural and social development of all of society. Subsequently, the Government, through Resolution of 20 March 2013 No 203, approved the updated State Policy in Electronic Communications Digital Czech Republic 2.0, The Way to the Digital Economy (“Digital Czech Republic 2.0”). The Digital Czech Republic 2.0 document is built on three pillars, namely support for the development of high-speed Internet access networks; the availability and development of digital services; and improving digital literacy and the e-skills of the users of the networks and electronic communications services. One of the main tasks determined in this document was support for the development of high-speed Internet access networks in accordance with the objectives of the Digital Agenda for Europe, enabling an Internet connection with a transfer rate of 30 Mbit/s for all inhabitants and 100 Mbit/s for at least half of all households. The Government also approved the Radio Spectrum Management Strategy10, which defines specific envisaged measures primarily in the medium term, which should – in accordance with European harmonisation documents – create the prerequisites to promote the fulfilment of the objectives of the State Policy in Electronic Communications Digital Czech Republic 2.0. At European level, back in 2005 the European Commission (“EC”) through its communication “i2010 – A European Information Society for growth and employment11” noted that in connection with the creation of a Single European Information Space there is a need to address at the outset four main challenges posed by digital convergence. One of these challenges was speed, i.e. “faster broadband in Europe services to deliver rich content such as high definition video12“. The other challenges are as follows. Rich content will provide “increased legal and economic certainty to encourage new services and on-line content”; interoperability should “enhance devices and platforms that “talk to one another” and services that are portable from platform to platform”. The last (but not least) challenge is security, anticipating “making the Internet safer from fraudsters, harmful content and technology failures to increase trust amongst investors and consumers”. This initiative was replaced in 2010 by the so-called Digital Agenda for Europe13, in which it is stated that very fast Internet is an essential prerequisite for reliable economic growth, job creation and access for citizens to the information and services they want. The strategy determined the basic qualitative and quantitative parameters for Internet availability with the objective of ensuring that by 2020 i) all Europeans will have access to a significantly faster Internet, i.e. over 30 Mbit/s, and ii) at least half of European households will have an available Internet connection faster than 100 Mbit/s. This general vision was also adopted by the Czech Republic in the material Digital Czech Republic 2.0. In its strategy, the EC also spoke of the use of instruments to finance the construction of high-speed connections in 9 10 11 12 13 The document was approved by the Government through its Resolution of 19 January 2011 No 50. See Government Resolution of 3 June 2015 No 421. See SEC(2005) 717 (http://ec.europa.eu/ceskarepublika/pdf/com_229_i2010_cs.pdf). The texts presented in italics in this document are verbatim quotes. See COM(2010) 245 in its final wording /2 (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/CS/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52010DC0245R(01). 9