Consultation for Exclusions to Single Information Point obligations under the Gigabit Infrastructure Act

Background

In April 2024 the European Commission enacted the Gigabit Infrastructure Act (GIA). The purpose of this Regulation is to hasten the rollout and reduce the cost of deploying very high capacity telecommunications networks (VHCNs).

The GIA requires that Member States establish a digital Single Information Point through which operators deploying VHCNs can request information on existing physical infrastructure. Owners of this infrastructure are obliged to provide a minimum set of information for those seeking access. This includes the georeferenced location and route of the physical infrastructure, the type and current use of the infrastructure, and a contact point.

Member States have discretion to exclude certain types of physical infrastructure from these obligations where it is considered the infrastructure is technically unsuitable for the deployment of VHCNs, or where to provide information is considered disproportionate.

The Department of Culture Communications and Sport commissioned an expert report to research the current use of infrastructure suitable for the deployment of VHCNs and to evaluate the quality and availability of relevant information.

The resulting consultation is based on detailed original research of the Irish market and comparisons with existing practices in other Member States. It presents recommendations on discretional exclusions and explains the basis and justification for those recommendations.

How to get involved

We encourage interested parties to email their response to the following questions to GIA@ccs.gov.ie and include in the subject field “Exclusions to Single Information Point obligations under the Gigabit Infrastructure Act” along with their individual or organisation’s name;

Question 1 – Do you agree that the proposed exclusions of physical infrastructure, as outlined in Table 1 of the consultation and the WIK Report, from SIP obligations under GIA, pursuant to Article 4.7 (a)-(b), are justified on the grounds of technical suitability or proportionality, or both? Please give reasons for your answer.

Question 2 – Do you anticipate a significant and growing need for access to suitable street furniture (e.g., lampposts, bus shelters, traffic lights) to support the rollout of 5G and/or other wireless technologies? If so, please highlight when this need is likely to arise, what are the likely drivers for increased access, and what types of street furniture are likely to be most suitable?

Question 3 – Are there any other observations in relation to this consultation topic or the WIK Report that you wish to provide feedback on, including on other physical infrastructure that, in your opinion, should be considered for exclusion from SIP obligations? Please provide details and reasons for your answer.

The deadline for submission is 5pm 11 February 2026.

Any submissions received after this date shall not be considered.

Terms and conditions

All submissions and comments submitted to the Department for this purpose are subject to release under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2014 and the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007-2014. Submissions are also subject to Data Protection legislation.

Personal, confidential or commercially sensitive information should not be included in your submission and it will be presumed that all information contained in your submission is releasable under the Freedom of Information Act 2014.

What we will do with your response

Your feedback will be recorded, collated, analysed, and evaluated. Please note that the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport may publish a summary of the survey results and may also publish anonymised data from the responses received.

Please note that submissions received may be made available without personal information on the Department’s website and may be shared, unless otherwise requested. In any event, all submissions received will be subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act and Data Protection legislation.