Leading European telecommunication companies published an open letter calling on EU policymakers to closely align Europe’s digital ambitions with a supportive policy and regulatory ecosystem. The imperative is for Europe to take a leadership role in technological innovation and inclusivity. Specifically, the CEOs of the top European carriers are calling for action in three areas:
- A clear alignment between European digital leadership ambitions and competition policy. The positive signals on industry collaboration – ranging from network sharing to IPCEI projects[vi] and other forms of cooperation – are important steps forward and should be reinforced. Building scale in the telecoms sector remains a priority, inside markets as well as across markets: this is in the strategic interest of the EU and its citizens.
- Strong political buy in to ensure that regulatory action fosters investment in gigabit networks, which will require €300bn additional investment[vii]. Regulation must fully reflect market realities, now and in the future. Namely, that telecom operators compete face-to-face with services by big tech, in the context of vibrant markets. High spectrum prices and auctions that artificially force unsustainable entrants into the market must end. Recent ideas to alter a European Commission proposal by extending retail price regulation to international calls – a competitive market where many free alternatives exist – are at odds with the Digital Decade targets: we estimate that they would forcibly remove over €2bn revenues from the sector in a 4 year period, which is equivalent to 2.5% of the sector’s yearly investment capacity for mobile infrastructure[viii]. In addition, the on-going policy work on reducing the cost of roll-out is of essence and should proceed speedily.
- A renewed effort to rebalance the relationship between global technology giants and the European digital ecosystem. Horizontal measures such as the Digital Markets Act play a crucial role and, for this reason, we firmly support them. In addition, we must also consider important sector-specific issues. Large and increasing part of network traffic is generated and monetized by big tech platforms, but it requires continuous, intensive network investment and planning by the telecommunications sector. This model – which enables EU citizens to enjoy the fruits of the digital transformation – can only be sustainable if such big tech platforms also contribute fairly to network costs. Furthermore, we must ensure that new industrial strategies allow European players – including telcos – to compete successfully in global data spaces, so we can develop a European data economy that is built on true European values.