European digital infrastructure shows critical resilience gaps

Tourists traveling across Europe encounter uneven internet quality despite broad broadband coverage. Issues include reduced mobile signal in tunnels, historic city centres, and rural areas, as well as varying speeds between operators and geoblocking that limits access to streaming content and online services. The “Roam Like at Home” policy eases cross‑border mobile use but often benefits local carriers and imposes data caps for international SIMs.

A Boston Consulting Group study, “The Day Europe’s Data Stops Flowing,” warns that the region’s heavy reliance on digital systems could trigger a systemic crisis if data flows are disrupted for an extended period. The report identifies single points of failure in core network links, limited redundancy in regional data centres, and inadequate monitoring of submarine cable landing stations. Prolonged outages could impact payments, health care, energy supply, emergency services and supply chains, highlighting the need for stronger public‑private coordination to improve monitoring, funding and cross‑border cooperation.

The analysis notes that while Europe has matched the US and Asia in connectivity, the increased integration has amplified exposure to infrastructure failures, especially in Central and Eastern Europe where most international traffic passes through one or two physical connectors.