Telecom industry body GSMA has suggested several steps to revive telecommunications growth in Europe.
GSMA has the backing of top rival operators and their CEOs: Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Hottges, Orange CEO Stephane Richard, Telecom Italia CEO Marco Patuano, Telefonica CEO Cesar Alierta, Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao.
GSMA in a statement shared the following steps:
EU should support the development of modern digital infrastructures by ensuring a simplified, digital-friendly, pro-investment regulatory framework ensuring a fair long-term return on investments in new infrastructure. A review of the European regulatory framework is the appropriate tool for addressing such an essential goal.
Achievement of the 2020 Digital Agenda targets requires both private and public investment. These should be addressed by means of appropriate public funding to avoid the emergence of a new digital divide. Private investments should not be crowded out by competition from public projects.
EU should support and promote the on-going reallocation of radio spectrum to the Communications Industry so that operators can continue to meet consumer and business needs for faster connection speeds and greater capacity.
Policies recently supported by the Commission and the Parliament concerning spectrum licensing provide the right answers to these issues. There is also a need to ensure award processes are not structured to extract excessive payment for spectrum as this has a direct impact on the financial capacity to invest in infrastructure.
EU should support a new interpretation and application of Merger Regulation and Guidelines to reflect the rapidly changing environment, characterised by growth in data consumption and new sources of Internet-based competition.
EU needs to support a level playing field of regulation between the Communications and Internet industries. The European Communications Industry needs greater freedom to compete on equal terms with the Internet industry. At the same time, Internet players should be subject to the same rules.
Digitalisation
Digitalisation of the Public Administration will be a catalyst for the spread of ICT in Europe. Telecom operators are ready to participate in projects for the timely digitalisation of Public Administration, Schools and Healthcare.
GSMA said fast broadband networks and transition to full IP will allow innovative services.
EU needs to address any bottlenecks due to a lack of interoperability and/or portability of personal data, content and applications when switching between platforms or providers. There should be a more transparent system, said GSMA.
GSMA suggests that a coordinated approach to data privacy and digital security is needed to help build trust and confidence in the use of new digital services by EU citizens and provide them with effective and consistent protection across the digital value chain.
EU needs to address the systematic encryption of data traffic by Internet players as this threatens to distort the level playing field for competition and compromise the coordinated fight against cybercrime.