By Laszlo Toth, Head of Europe at the GSMA
Connectivity has never been more essential to Europe’s ability to compete and prosper at a global level. It is the key enabler for the continent’s citizens and businesses both in their crucial day-to-day activities and in driving innovation and maximising growth opportunities, in particular in AI.
As this reliance on existing telecoms and digital infrastructure continues to grow through higher traffic demands, a lack of essential investment in new and improved networks risks leaving Europe increasingly uncompetitive.
In no small part due to these ongoing investment needs, the EU’s Digital Decade targets, including the aim of 5G for everyone and everywhere by 2030, have stalled.
As President von der Leyen’s new Commission gets to work, this new term will have enormous significance for Europe’s position globally and for its ability to deliver on ambitions to be a leader in the digital and innovation spaces.
Addressing the investment gap
We are at a critical juncture that requires urgency, pragmatism and ambition from our policymakers if we are not to fall even further behind our global peers.
The financial health and future of the continent were discussed in recent reports from Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi, with the latter estimating the current need for digital infrastructure investment to be at least €200 billion. Our networks of the future will of course require even more investment than that.
Current rules and structures severely limit the mobile sector’s ability to raise this further investment capital and to reach sufficient scale; the fear is that without it, Europe will become a minor player compared to other world regions, jeopardising economic performance, innovation capabilities and talent retention.
There are solutions to this. A reduction in existing regulation, allowing market consolidation, ensuring fairness in the digital value chain, and harmonising spectrum licensing procedures, should be a high priority for the new Commission.
The potential for the Digital Networks Act to facilitate a competitive, secure and sustainable European telecoms single market would allow this essential industry to thrive once again as the key enabler of Europe’s digital economy. A connectivity union, in line with sectors such as capital markets, energy and banking, may also be a way of fostering closer collaboration and purpose between the industry, the Commission, national governments, consumers and regulators.
Reclaiming our innovation title
Ultimately, Europe’s telecoms sector is not a ‘nice to have’ or something to be taken for granted. It forms the backbone of the continent’s digital infrastructure and as a result is intrinsically linked to the ability of citizens and businesses to operate, to innovate and to thrive.
We are already seeing great strides being made elsewhere in the world in widespread, fast and reliable networks; empowered by this connectivity, these markets are also able to explore the opportunities new services and technologies offer and to surge ahead in maximising AI’s clear potential.
From the original telephone through to fax machines, Bluetooth technology and of course the internet, Europe has long been a leader in invention and innovation, providing the world with the communications technology that now underpins entire economies. It is therefore a cruel irony that it is this connectivity that now risks holding us back and strangling our ability to compete.
This new Commission has a vital opportunity to ensure Europe regains its position as the true home of global innovation but this cannot happen without making our digital infrastructure world class. There is no time to waste.