The European Commission has adopted its proposal for a Digital Networks Act (DNA), marking a crucial moment in EU telecoms policy,according to trade body Connect Europe, which notes that with 85 per cent of Europeans saying connectivity is a basic need and over 60 per cent of SMEs looking at 5G to grow their business, reform is no longer a luxury, but a necessity.

However, apart from spectrum, the draft law appears to be a continuation of the status quo, contends Connect Europe, lacking transformative proposals to foster much-needed investment. Connect Europe therefore calls on EU co-legislators to re-establish the level of ambition set out by the high-level reports of Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi, firmly placing simplification, harmonisation, innovation and competitiveness at the centre of this reform.

“The DNA rightly identifies connectivity as a key lever to achieve European competitiveness and tech sovereignty,” says Connect Europe. “We welcome the new objectives of the legislative proposal, which now explicitly calls for reinforcing competitiveness, creating a single market and promoting investment to the benefit of citizens. But we consider that they are insufficiently reflected in the actual measures foreseen by the text, while additional complexity and rules have been added throughout the proposal. Europe can no longer afford overregulation, fragmentation and underinvestment.”

According to Connect Europe, the proposed rules on access affecting network investment fall short of what Europe needs. In particular, the draft introduces further uncertainty on the investor model and risks chilling effects on competition, investment and customer choice.

“Implementing President von der Leyen’s simplification and single market agenda must be a central objective of the DNA” urges Connect Europe. “In this context, we need to reduce regulatory fragmentation across the EU and move from sector-specific to horizontal rules.”

“Europe’s competitiveness and sovereignty in global tech markets require operators with sufficient scale and investment capacity,” it warns. “Without this, Europe will have little to reach negotiations at eye-level with big tech giants.”

“With the draft DNA, the Commission aligns the EU to global 5G and 6G developments by strengthening spectrum policy. This is a key step forward, and we call on the European Parliament and the Member States to maintain and strengthen it,” says Connect Europe.

“In addition, we must ensure regulatory certainty on both specialised services and network slicing, so that operators can offer advanced and innovative 5G services to their customers. Unless we correct the current fragmented and restrictive approach, Europe risks falling further behind other world regions in advanced 5G.”

Connect Europe says it stands ready to support the co-legislators to make the final DNA a success in Europe’s path towards competitiveness.

Alessandro Gropelli, Director General of Connect Europe, said: “The real challenge now isn’t achieving a Brussels compromise, but putting Europe back on the global tech map. The DNA can be instrumental in advancing European sovereignty and competitiveness, but the final text must fully reflect the ambition of the Letta and Draghi reports”.

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Categories: Articles, Broadband, Business, Policy, Regulation, Telco

Tags: Alessandro Gropelli, Connect Europe, Digital Networks Act, Loo, Ursula von der Leyen