[REVISION HISTORY]

European telecommunications regulatory reform efforts

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2026-09-19 13:32 UTC → 2026-10-14 09:47 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Seventeen CEOs from major European telecommunications companies, representing the industry group Connect Europe, have issued a joint statement calling for a “course correction” in European Union digital policy. The group, which includes leaders from Orange, Deutsche Telekom, and Telefónica, warned that the proposed Digital Networks Act (DNA) and the Cybersecurity Act (CSA) could undermine technological leadership and investment. They specifically requested indefinite spectrum licenses—or terms of at least 40 years—and opposed mandated copper-to-fiber transitions, arguing that legacy network retirement should be market-driven. Executives noted that while operators invest approximately €64 billion annually, an additional €475 billion is required to establish world-class mobile networks. They also expressed concern that replacing high-risk third-country equipment could cost the industry up to €40 billion. This concern follows a significant distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the Portuguese operator Meo, which caused network congestion and BGP routing instability, though the company reported no customer data was compromised. In response to these concerns, Cyta and Connect Europe hosted a workshop involving public authorities, telecommunications providers, and European institutions to discuss the DNA and the revision of the Cybersecurity Act (CSA2). The workshop focused on establishing a harmonized framework to encourage investment in 5G, fiber-optic, and future 6G networks while balancing network security with the need to avoid unnecessary regulatory burdens. ~~Participants emphasized~~ Recent analysis by the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) suggests that ~~legislative developments should drive technological advancement~~ Europe’s leadership in future technologies like 6G may be at risk. This potential decline is attributed to regulatory hurdles and ~~improved service quality, ensuring~~ the ~~region remains competitive in~~ slow rollout of 5G infrastructure rather than a lack of technical expertise. As 6G aims to integrate communication, data processing, and artificial ~~intelligence, cloud services,~~ intelligence to support autonomous vehicles and ~~next-generation networks.~~ robotics, the development of high-capacity fiber optic networks remains essential for connecting base stations to the core network.

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