According to figures from the Minister of Digital Affairs, at the end of 2025 there were over 9.2 million address points in Poland – that is, addresses of buildings or premises – of which nearly 8 million were within the coverage area of fixed broadband internet (85.5%), whereas 1.3 million points (14.5 %) remained outside its coverage area.
Access to high-quality internet fosters the development of digital services and businesses, while modern infrastructure enables the growth of e-services, e-commerce and automation. The European Funds for Digital Development 2021–2027 Programme is one of the main instruments financed by the European Union aimed at developing digital infrastructure in Poland, including ensuring access to ultra-fast broadband internet.
The Digital Poland Project Centre (Centrum Projektów Polska Cyfrowa, CPPC) was the key body responsible for awarding and administering support to telecoms operators. Its tasks included preparing and conducting the call for proposals, assessing applications for project funding, concluding funding agreements, verifying payment claims, monitoring project implementation, and ensuring that the support complied with the relevant regulations.
As part of its audit, the NIK examined the implementation of measures under Priority I, ‘Increasing access to ultra-fast broadband’, of the EFDD programme, which is aimed at developing networks providing internet access with a bandwidth of at least 300 Mb/s, with the potential for further expansion to gigabit speeds.
Declining interest amongst programme beneficiaries and low take-up of funds
An audit by the NIK showed that telecoms operators, despite their applications for funding under the EFDD programme being approved, often abandoned projects following further technical, economic and legal analyses which indicated limited profitability of the investments, and in some cases even terminated agreements during the course of the project. Consequently, they failed to undertake almost half of the planned investments, which were intended to increase access to ultra-fast broadband internet in various regions of Poland in so-called ‘white spots’. By the end of 2025, only 61 out of 118 operators (i.e., 51.7%) whose applications for funding had been approved in the EFDD programme’s call for proposals were implementing projects.
Due to declining interest amongst businesses in utilising the support, in July 2025 the allocation of European Union funds earmarked for Measure 1.1 was reduced by nearly 60% – from PLN 4.5 billion to PLN 1.8 billion. As of 30 September 2025, the entire reduced amount had been contracted by the Digital Poland Project Centre (CPPC) for broadband network construction projects. In the opinion of the Supreme Audit Office (NIK), the reallocation of part of the funds to other tasks helped to minimise the risk of the EFDD programme allocation going unused while at the same time confirming the limited capacity to absorb funds for increasing access to fixed broadband internet in so-called ‘white spots’.
By 30 September 2025, the CPPC had settled expenditure reported by beneficiaries totalling PLN 110.6 million, which represented 5.9% of the value of the funding allocated under the grant agreements. This means that after approximately 60% of the implementation period had elapsed (on average, almost 20 months since the signing of the grant agreements), beneficiaries had utilised and settled just under 6% of the contracted funds, with an average of 15 months remaining until the end of the eligibility period for expenditure.
Incorrect and incomplete data on address points
The lack of complete and accurate data on address points undermined the effectiveness of support for the roll-out of broadband networks under the EFDD programme in so-called ‘white spots’. The source of the problems was the inadequate quality of the data used to identify, verify and update the address points covered by the funding. Incomplete or out-of-date data meant that, even while projects were underway, it was necessary to amend their scope, in particular by excluding some address points and replacing them with others. This delayed network roll-out and limited the programme’s ability to achieve its intended outcomes. The scale of the problem indicates that these were not isolated errors, but a weakness in the mechanism based on data provided by telecoms operators, which was subsequently used in the planning and implementation of the support. Responsibility for the quality of the data and its use in the intervention process was fragmented. The data was provided by telecommunications operators and then collected and updated in the dedicated PIT (Information Point on Telecommunications) and SIDUSIS (Information System on Access to Fixed Broadband Internet Services), which fall under the remit of the President of the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) and the Minister of Digital Affairs, and were used to designate and verify areas eligible for support. The CPPC did not own this data, but it should have identified the impact of its insufficient quality on project implementation and reported such risks to the relevant institutions.
Following the amendment to the State Aid Rules, the CPPC failed to provide a documented analysis of whether, in the designated areas, existing networks could be upgraded to a capacity of 1 Gb/s without significant investment in network infrastructure. This risk was also not included in the risk management system, even though it could have affected the eligibility for and scope of the aid granted.
Delays in the implementation of investments
In 12 out of the 17 projects examined (i.e., 70.6%), the NIK identified irregularities. These included breaches of the provisions of grant agreements, delays in the implementation of broadband network projects, and problems with the submission of the required data to the PIT and SIDUSIS systems.
In ten of the projects examined, there were delays in implementation compared with the original timetables, and in three of them these delays persisted despite the implementation of remedial plans. These plans postponed the completion date by six months. Consequently, the progress of the audited projects, as at the date of completion of the audit, was low in relation to the level of contractual obligations. The NIK audit revealed that, by the end of the audit, less than 10% of the network had been built (1,530 km out of the planned 15,819 km), and coverage extended to only 25% of address points.
Almost one-third of the projects examined (29.4%) were being implemented in breach of the funding agreements. Furthermore, in the case of 13 out of 17 projects examined (76.5%), the provision of ultra-fast broadband internet access services had not yet commenced at all, which means that implementation remained mainly at the construction or technical coverage stage, rather than the actual provision of services to end-users. The underutilisation of the infrastructure was due to the services not having been launched, rather than a lack of interest on the part of residents.
Frequent changes to the scope of projects
Delays in project implementation were significantly affected by changes to the scope of projects introduced by the CPPC, involving the exclusion of some previously planned locations (exclusion of address points). In 16 out of 17 audited projects, 12.6% of the address points planned for coverage were excluded from the investment. These changes resulted from incomplete and out-of-date data on telecommunications infrastructure, which was collected and updated by the President of the Office of Electronic Communications in the PIT system and by the Minister of Digital Affairs in the SIDUSIS system. Consequently, CPPC had limited scope to independently adjust the parameters of the support provided.
Provision of data on telecommunications infrastructure by the surveyed businesses
Irregularities were identified in five of the 15 beneficiaries audited (i.e., 33.3%), consisting of the incomplete or late submission of data to the PIT and SIDUSIS systems. It should be emphasised that outdated or incomplete data may necessitate a reduction in the scope of the investment while the business is still utilising the support, and, in extreme cases, may lead to double funding of broadband networks in certain locations where networks already exist or are being built by several businesses.
Recurring problems
The NIK notes that significant problems concerning the provision of fixed broadband internet access, previously identified as a result of an audit of the implementation of the National Broadband Plan (Narodowy Plan Szerokopasmow, NPS), i.e., the government document on the development of broadband networks, have not been resolved. They continue to relate to the insufficient quality and timeliness of data on telecommunications infrastructure.
In addition, one of the main objectives of the NPS has not been achieved, as by the end of 2025 just over 85% of address points were covered by broadband internet, instead of the planned 100%. The persistence of shortcomings in data quality increases the risk of further setbacks in the implementation of measures to improve access to broadband internet in Poland.
Conclusions and recommendations
As a result of the audit performed, the Supreme Audit Office asks the Minister of Digital Affairs and the President of the Office of Electronic Communications:
- to take action by the Minister of Digital Affairs and the President of UKE to ensure that the data on telecommunications infrastructure and address points used by the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy and the Director of CPPC in the implementation of Measure 1.1 of the EFDD programme is up to date and complete;
- to take action by the Minister of Digital Affairs, in cooperation with the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy and the President of UKE, to ensure proper verification of the modernisation potential of existing broadband infrastructure in the intervention areas.
The NIK notes that the audit findings confirmed that incomplete and out-of-date data on broadband infrastructure, including address points, have a significant impact on the planning and effectiveness of public intervention in the development of fixed broadband internet networks in areas requiring support.
Therefore, the recommendation addressed to the Minister of Digital Affairs following the NIK audit P/23/005 ‘Implementation of the National Broadband Plan’ remains valid. It concerned ensuring that data on telecommunications infrastructure and address points are collected within a single reporting system, alongside the standardisation of deadlines for their submission.
