The EU Commission limits broadband network State aid authorizations only to areas where market based instruments are unlikely to be made without aid measures (The Netherlands)

State Aid for the Deployment of Broadband Networks Most State aid for the development of broadband networks is approved by the Commission. But the aid must be limited only to areas where market-based investments are unlikely to be made without aid. Introduction This article reviews a recent Commission decision authorising State aid for broadband development in the Netherlands which is one of the most networked countries in the world. Naturally, this raises the question how State aid was found to be necessary in a country where the market appears to work well. But before reviewing that decision it is worth putting the whole issue of public funding of broadband networks in perspective because it reveals that negative decisions are very rare in this field. According to the 2017 State