On behalf of Europe’s telecoms industry, the GSMA congratulates the incoming Commission, in particular Henna Virkkunen and Teresa Ribera, and looks forward to working with them in the years ahead.
We are at a critical juncture for Europe and this new term will be decisive in how competitive and successful the continent remains for current and future generations.
For Europe to deliver on its ambition to become a global leader in tech innovation, most notably in AI, our digital infrastructure is essential. Secure and resilient 5G mobile internet networks form a core part of the enabling infrastructure for Europe’s future success and their maintenance and evolution to 6G will be vital, especially as new services, applications and platforms drive ever-increasing traffic and technical and quality requirements.
However, as detailed market analysis, including high-profile reports from Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi, has shown, significant investment is required to maintain and improve this crucial connectivity. The Draghi report identified a €200 billion investment gap but this is a conservative estimate – it is what is already required to make our networks fit for purpose. To become a true global leader, as the Commission intends and the digital sector envisages, the actual level of investment will be far higher.
Without urgent, powerful and ambitious reforms from policymakers, Europe will fall even further behind its global peers. Current rules and structures severely limit the mobile sector’s ability to raise further investment capital and to reach sufficient scale; the fear is that without it, Europe will become a minor player compared to otherworld regions, jeopardising economic performance, innovation capabilities and talent retention.
Much of 2024 has been spent debating the merits of a new legislative proposal – a Digital Networks Act – and we welcome the indication that bringing this into force will be a high priority for the incoming Commission. A competitive, secure and sustainable European telecoms single market that reduces regulation, updates spectrum licensing procedures, enables fair negotiations in the digital value chain, and facilitates consolidation will ease some of the pressure on this essential industry, which is the enabler of Europe’s digital economy, and help close the significant investment gap it faces.
As AI and other emerging technologies will drive innovation and opportunity across the world, but also increase pressure on networks, it has never been more important to ensure Europe has the resources and infrastructure it needs to remain competitive and at the top of this digital tidal wave.
We believe this Commission has an enormous opportunity to define how Europe can achieve and lead in the digital space for decades to come and to embrace an innovative future. We look forward to working closely with the new Commissioners to ensure that Europe’s digital future delivers what its citizens and businesses need.
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