The Mobile World Congress (MWC) was attended this Monday by the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, the French Thierry Breton, who assured that it is necessary to create a “true digital single market” where the telecos and the technological giants play by the same rules.
Breton has explained that the current framework is “too fragmented” and outdated, so it is still There are numerous regulatory obstacles to creating this single telecommunications market. And the investments necessary to close the gap in telecommunications networks are at least 200,000 million euros in the next six years for the deployment of 5G and fiber optics.
“We are not making the most of our unique market of 450 million potential customers. We need a true digital single market to facilitate the emergence of pan-European operators with the same scale and business opportunities as their colleagues,” said the European commissioner at the MWC.
By creating a “level playing field” all actors will have similar rights and obligations, and pan-European operators will be able to reduce their compliance costs and investment requirements. Thus, Major network operators will be able to offer their services throughout the single market without any problems, take advantage of economies of scale, reach a critical size, as well as attract more investment and implement new technologies more quickly. “And thanks to this principle, we will finally create a true digital single market and a compelling business case for operators participate in cross-border consolidation“says Breton.
In this sense, Europe needs to move towards cross-border consolidationsto take advantage of economies of scale, as well as attract greater investments.
To guarantee the digital transformation, he has indicated that it is necessary to reduce the administrative burden of the excessive regulation and providing incentives for “faster deployment of new technologies”.
Demystifying the optimal number of operators
Given the possibility that Europe will see three or four mergers in the telecommunications market, Breton wanted to demystify the optimal number of operators and has assured that “There is no magic figure for consolidation.”
“We should give spectrum policy a truly European dimension and push for more timely and affordable auctions. Because, in the technological race towards 6G, We cannot afford any further delays in the spectrum licensing process.with enormous disparities in the auction calendar and the deployment of infrastructure between Member States,” he stated. He also stressed that Europe cannot afford the same result as the 5G auctions, where, after eight years, the process It hasn't finished yet.