Better, faster broadband is a priority of the revised Digital Agenda for Europe in 2013-14 and the improved provision of which, is an initiative of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The Agenda sets ambitious objectives for broadband infrastructure development, specifically to provide basic broadband to all Europeans by this year and to ensure that by 2020 all EU citizens have access to much higher internet speeds and 50% or more of European households subscribe to internet connections above 100Mbps.Member States have responded positively to the EU call for technological innovation and broadband development: the Irish DISCUS and the Finnish Broadband 2015 are pioneer projects in the field of large-scale fibre-optic broadband networks and are paving the way for several other innovative projects across Europe. However, obstacles remain with the majority of broadband funding from Connecting Europe Facility being reduced from over €9bn to €1bn. The European Commission has adopted revised guidelines (December 2012) for the application of EU state aid rules to the broadband sector, which will assist Member States in achieving the objectives of the EU Digital Agenda.In order to provide better, open access to the internet for all Europeans, further development of broadband policy needs to take into account not only the absorption of the digital divide, but the protection of the net neutrality principle. Therefore, it is necessary to tackle proposals which prevent users from freely accessing content online, and to ensure transparency and regulatory certainty for citizens, operators and all key stakeholders.This timely international symposium provides an invaluable opportunity to discuss how to overcome existing barriers to secure equal access to high-speed broadband across Europe.