EU receives over 11,000 applications in third WiFi4EU call
With a call budget of EUR 26.7 million, the Commission will distribute 1,780 vouchers across European municipalities to set up a free Wi-Fi network in public spaces. WiFi4EU call
Response from municipalities to the third WiFi4EU Call has been impressive. More than 2000 municipalities applied within the first 2 seconds of the opening of the call on 19 September. By the closure of the application period on 20 September, the Commission had received over 11,000 applications from all participating countries out of the 25,000 registered municipalities. The number of applications is more than six times the amount of vouchers available.
The first and the second WiFi4EU calls have granted in total 6,200 vouchers to municipalities across Europe. The WiFi4EU voucher provides a fixed amount of funding of €15,000 per municipality aimed to support the installation of state-of-the-art Wi-Fi equipment in the centres of community life, such as town halls, public libraries, museums, public parks or squares to provide free Wi-Fi access to internet to their citizens and visitors.
Next Steps for WiFi4EU WiFi4EU call
Following the closure of the call for applications, the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), the Commission’s executive agency in charge of implementing the WiFi4EU programme, is making the necessary checks of the admissibility and eligibility of the municipalities. Learn more about the timeline of the next steps for call three.
The beneficiaries will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis, while ensuring geographical balance. Every participating country is guaranteed a minimum of 15 vouchers and can potentially win a maximum of 142 vouchers.
If you missed the call for applications or your municipality does not win the voucher from this call, you will have another chance to apply for WiFi4EU in 2020. In the meantime, all registered municipalities and Wi-Fi installation companies can join our dedicated WiFi4EU Community to give feedback on the initiative, engage with municipalities from all over Europe and be updated on the WiFi4EU programme.
