– We all depend on telecommunications and communications, whatever we do.
Also companies that are not digital depend on being able to connect their systems. We all depend on our calls. In short, this is the absolute backbone of the functioning of the economy. Today, European telecommunications operators complain about the conditions in which they operate, comparing themselves with American or Chinese operators," stressed Michał Kobosko, Euro MP from Renew Europe, rapporteur for the Digital Networks Act in the European Parliament.
The fragmentation of the telecommunications marketplace has been identified for years as 1 of the barriers to the improvement of the EU electronic communications sector
The electronic communications sector in the EU remains mostly fragmented into national markets, which, according to EU institutions, reduces the scale of operators’ activity and the pace of investment in modern infrastructure. The draft Digital Networks Act (DNA), adopted by the European Commission, aims to improve the legal framework of the telecommunications marketplace and to adapt it to technological developments and the increasing function of communication in the economy.
The fragmentation of the telecommunications marketplace has for years been identified as 1 of the barriers to the improvement of the electronic communications sector in the European Union. Enric Letty and Maria Draghi study points out that differences in national regulations and limited scale of business make cross-border activities hard for operators. This means more hard conditions for the construction of strong pan-European actors and little opportunities for financing investments in modern infrastructure, including 5G networks and gigabit solutions. The authors of the analysis stress that European companies compete with entities operating in much larger and more uniform markets, which translates into disparities in the scale of activity or investment potential. marketplace integration and greater regulatory consistency are, in their view, essential conditions to increase the competitiveness of the EU telecoms sector.
Telecommunications law in Europe has already aged to any extent
The Sauli Niinistö study on civilian and military readiness in turn points to the increasing importance of the resilience of digital networks and the request to reduce technological dependence, including in the area of satellite communications. The paper highlights the request to build crisis consequence capacity and guarantee continuity of key digital services.
– Telecommunications law in Europe has already aged to any extent. The European Electronic Communications Code does not reflect current realities: the improvement of artificial intelligence, the net and social media. This needs to be modernised and fresh aspects of the operation of telecommunications, which are increasingly linked to satellite connections, should be shown. It is besides crucial to decide what to do with telecom frequency auctions in Europe. Today, all country does it its own way. This is the immense money that operators pay, this is the second investment at the cost of telecommunications infrastructure – explains Michał Kobosko. "In a word, there are quite a few things to do, and that is why the European Commission's DNA proposal, which we are beginning to work on in the European Parliament.
The fresh regulations are intended, according to the EC, to make conditions for subsequent changes in the electronic communications market
DNA is intended to consolidate existing EU regulations on the electronic communications marketplace in a single legal act. These include the European Electronic Communications Code, the regulations on BEREC, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, the principles of radio spectrum policy, selected regulations on open net and the Privacy and Communications Directive.
According to the EC, the fresh regulations are intended to make conditions for subsequent changes in the electronic communications market, already at the level of infrastructure and operating rules of operators. DNA assumes, among another things, the introduction of a alleged uniform passport to aid companies supply services in many EU countries, more consistent rules for radio frequency management and gradual departure from copper networks for modern fibre networks. This is intended to advance investment and the implementation of fresh technologies, including 5G and Gigabit solutions. – Generally, we have this marketplace well developed, but there is simply a request for another step, a large change. Hence, this fresh regulation and the proposal, which is 350 pages long and may even grow, due to the fact that there are so many different aspects of the functioning of the telecommunications market, and even of the full digital ecosystem of Europe," emphasises the Euro MP Renew Europe.
