According to recent research conducted for ETNO by Accenture Strategy, Europe can gain up to €4bn a day by being at the heart of the digital ecosystem. Europe can enable 11% of the EU population to complete high-quality online courses and leverage digital solutions to reduce the EU’s CO2 emissions by 34% by 2030.

 

However, all of these advances require the industry and regulators to embrace transformation. Over the past ten years, Europe has lost €100m in telco EBIT every day to digital disruptors and telcos in other regions. Without policy and industry action, Europe may face further value loss to digital disruptors in other regions. More than half of all current jobs in Europe could be affected by digitization.

 

“Right now, regulation is the main bottleneck to achieving 5G and fibre investment,” says Lise Fuhr, ETNO Director General. “The world’s largest telecoms investors have stated that Europe might be left behind in the race towards new networks. They have warned that proposed European regulations, which are very different from original EU proposals, will deter investment. In my opinion, ongoing discussions on the European Electronic Communications Code are key to unlock the situation.”

 

“Regulatory reform is now the single most important barrier to increasing investment levels. This is clearly indicated in reports from various analysts. A 2017 Economic Investment Report from the EIB stresses that a lack of infrastructure investment is harming the Continent’s growth potential. “Regulatory pressure on allowed returns” is named as one of the key causes.”

 

“With the Code and the ePrivacy, EU politicians and policymakers will reshape the digital rulebook for the years to come. As Europe struggles to keep pace with global competition, getting these things wrong is simply not an option. Especially as telecom networks and services are the key infrastructure for the growth of the whole Continent. This matters to an entire range of industrial sectors as well as citizens. Regulation should not make these items into a bottleneck.”

 

“Eight of the world’s most highly valued companies are technology businesses - but none of these companies are European. If we are to strengthen Europe’s competitive position in these digital times, we need to finally unleash the potential of European telcos. Unfortunately, numbers describe a challenging scenario and regulation is not helping. All of Europe’s businesses, institutions and citizens have a direct interest in a strong telecom sector.”