Deutsche Telekom CEO: "Europe needs a DOGE"
At the MWC Barcelona, the Telekom CEO passionately pleads for a reduction in bureaucracy in the EU – and would like to see a European DOGE based on the US model.
Mr. Höttges would like to see a European DOGE in Barcelona.
(Image: MWC Barcelona/Screenshot)
At the MWC mobile communications trade fair, Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges spoke out in favor of a drastic reduction in regulation in the European Union. "What Europe needs is something like DOGE," said Höttges on Monday in Barcelona. This refers to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is currently turning the federal authorities in the USA upside down.
In view of the total of 270 regulatory authorities that Telekom has to deal with in the various countries, Höttges believes radical steps are called for. "We have media regulation, cyber security regulation, data protection regulation, telecommunications regulation at the local level and internationally. We need an initiative that cuts red tape."
Telcos against bureaucracy
Höttges thus joins the ranks of the telco bosses who are beating the drums in Barcelona for a massive reduction in regulatory requirements in Brussels. While the industry's general lamentation about the political shackles at the MWC is already a classic, the leaders of European telecommunications are being very clear this year.
Höttges knows from his experience with the US subsidiary T-Mobile that loose regulation has a positive impact on the bottom line. Deutsche Telekom owes its most recent record year largely to its US subsidiary, which accounts for around two thirds of its operating result.
With fewer rules, European telcos could grow faster and survive global competition. This is the clear message that Höttges and his colleagues are spreading at the MWC. For example, when it comes to merger control: the EU ensures that at least three or four network operators compete in the member states – and puts the brakes on takeovers.
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Reform of competition policy
"We need a reform of competition policy," demands Höttges. "The industry must be able to consolidate its activities. I'm not talking about cross-border synergies here, but in the markets themselves. There is no reason why every market has to have three or four network operators."
"We need to create a genuine European single market," says Höttges. "If we can't raise consumer prices or make the over-the-top players pay, we have to be able to scale. We see all over the world that the bigger the companies are, the more consumers benefit from the investments."
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