Estonian utility firm Eesti Energia has signed a EUR70 million (USD79 million) loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) which will allow the energy company to deploy an open access fibre network in underserved regions. The passive network will cover around 260,000 households, providing broadband services at download speeds of up to 1Gbps. 47,000 of these households are located in areas designated as having insufficient broadband connectivity (‘white areas’), while the remainder are in areas with limited connectivity.
EIB Vice President Thomas Ostros commented: ‘Estonia has already made a name for itself as a very digitalised country and we are happy to help push the boundaries of broadband internet access in the country even further.’