The Commission has signed grant agreements with 37 projects selected under the second set of calls for proposals for the digital strand of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF Digital). The total budget of €252 million will be allocated among projects for the deployment of 5G infrastructure for local communities and along major European transport corridors, as well as for the deployment of submarine cables, improving the security and resilience of backbone networks within and to the EU. The grants support the take-up of 5G network infrastructure in local smart communities around the EU, like universities, hospitals, and other civic buildings, to improve the quality of services of general interest.