Digital Networks Act: Telco CEOs put pressure on Brussels
In an open letter to the Commission, the CEOs of major European telcos call for fundamental regulatory reforms.
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European network operators are lobbying Brussels for real reforms of the telecommunications sector. In a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Vice-Presidents Henna Virkkunen and Teresa Ribera, the CEOs of 20 European companies call for a "profound overhaul of telecoms regulation".
In the letter signed by the CEO of Deutsche Telekom, Tim Höttges, among others, the company leaders call for the full implementation of the measures proposed by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi in their analyses of the EU market for the telecoms sector.
European champions
Letta and Draghi had spoken out in favor of a reform of market supervision to enable cross-border mergers of European companies. The aim is to create "European champions" that can withstand global competition. Critics, however, argue that this would significantly weaken competition within Europe.
According to the CEOs, the network economy accounts for 4.7 percent of Europe's gross domestic product. Their companies account for 70 percent of investment in the entire sector, which amounts to over 50 billion euros annually. The necessary expansion also requires further investment. To achieve this, the climate for investments in critical infrastructures must improve significantly, the telco CEOs demand.
The announced Digital Networks Act must provide concrete answers to these challenges, the CEOs write. "We need to overcome the fragmented, burdensome and outdated rules to strengthen Europe's digital infrastructure and create a true single market for telecommunications." The rules for mergers should also be relaxed. Fewer but stronger network operators would invest more and be more innovative in the face of "fierce competition".
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Rewriting the rules
The network operators organized in the "Connect Europe" association (formerly ETNO) see the Digital Networks Act (DNA) as an opportunity to rewrite the rules. "The DNA must establish a regulatory framework whose core concerns are competitiveness, simplification and harmonization," the association demands.
Other signatories to the open letter include the heads of the BT Group, Telenor, MEO, Orange, A1, TelefĂłnica and Telia.
(vbr)
