As the Irish Presidency kicks off, Europe’s telecom sector has a clear message: fix the rules before the investment gap widens further. Industry groups see the planned shift in telecom regulation as a chance to modernise spectrum policy and strengthen Europe’s position in the global race for next-generation networks.
GSMA and Connect Europe, the biggest organisations representing the telco industry, specifically want the presidency to focus on the Digital Networks Act (DNA) including spectrum management to reinvigorate a sector that is in danger of stagnation, despite being critical infrastructure.
The Irish presidency starts at the time when Europe is lagging behind other regions in advanced connectivity deployment. The 2024 report by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi highlighted Europe’s competitiveness challenge. Yet despite two years of talk about the report, EU continues to face a significant investment gap in delivering its Digital Decade objectives. The European Commission itself says meeting those goals are essential to remain globally competitive. All the while, operators have been calling for a clearer, more predictable regulatory roadmap in Europe.
Ireland’s connectivity legacy
Ireland is particularly well placed to take on the challenge. Nicola Cooke, Director of Telecommunications Industry Ireland (TII), pointed to the “long and proud” history in global communications, recalling Valentia Island as the landing point for the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable connecting Europe and North America. “That achievement was transformative — it shrank the world, accelerated trade and diplomacy, and placed Ireland at the heart of a global communications revolution. Today, in many ways, we are at a similar inflection point,” she said.
Ireland is positioned as a critical hub in global connectivity, and the decisions we take now will shape our role for decades to come. — Nicola Cooke, TII
While the technologies have evoled from telegraph to fibre, from voice to data, and from cables to 5G, Cooke argues that the strategic importance of connectivity remains just as profound. “Once again, Ireland is positioned as a critical hub in global connectivity, and the decisions we take now will shape our role for decades to come.”
Connectivity is widely recognised as critical infrastructure, yet at national level this is not always reflected in planning and investment decisions, complain operators. They say telecom networks are increasingly seen as an essential foundation that underpins economies, contactless payments, emergency services.
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The rules holding Europe back
Speakers at a GSMA summit in Dublin underlined that Europe doesn’t lack ambition. But it is the market structure that is holding it back through fragmentation, they argued. Some rules are simply outdated — for example, spectrum is not managed in a predictable long-term way.
According to CEOs, this is not accidental — it reflects a policy model that prioritises low prices over long-term investment. All agreed that the presidency has a real opportunity to help scale and compete, investment friendly framework from the DNA, risk-based security regulation.
The challenge in Europe is not the ability to innovate, it’s the ability to invest. When investment in our networks doesn’t happen, the consequences are far-reaching. — Vivek Badrinath, GSMA
The biggest concerns raised by GSMA and Connect Europe centre around this fragmentation in regulations and the outdated spectrum rules hindering investment. They point to a need for a unified strategy to advance connectivity as vital infrastructure. The groups say that there are also many challenges posed by existing regulations, particularly the Cybersecurity Act (CSA).
“The challenge in Europe is not the ability to innovate, it’s the ability to invest. When investment in our networks doesn’t happen, the consequences are far-reaching: people miss out on world-leading connectivity, businesses can’t scale, and public services are unable to modernise,” said Vivek Badrinath, Director General of the GSMA.
“If Europe wants to close its investment gap, it must create the conditions to enable scale. We need strong operators, and market conditions that allow them to invest, innovate and lead,” he added.
The good, the bad and the DNA
The sector has loudly welcomed the Commission’s ambitious proposal in the DNA on spectrum auctions to transition from traditional 15–20 year licenses to licenses of unlimited duration. It wants the Irish presidency to ensure that the eventual Council position reflects this.
However, Connect Europe expressed concern that from a legal standpoint “provisions in the DNA about mandating a switch from copper to fiber-optic networks may conflict with EU laws concerning property rights and market competition”.
“The transition to full fibre should be enabled through investment, voluntary take-up and workable migration conditions, not through rigid switch-off obligations that risk reducing consumer choice instead of accelerating FTTH adoption,” it added.
At the same time, industry representatives broadly agree that the proposed DNA could be a shot in the arm for Europe’s telecoms sector if it can boost investment, accelerate network deployment and reshape the competitive landscape.
GSMA points out that “telecom operators are expected to deliver: the most resilient networks, the most secure networks and the most affordable networks under the most intensive regulation while also being the most innovative. Those expectations are legitimate – but they are not neutral. Delivering all of them requires sustainable investment conditions, which are under pressure.”
“To deliver the policy shift required Europe needs to rebalance from short-term consumer pricing focus to long-term infrastructure investment,” it added.
The social fabric
This is about delivering jobs as well as connectivity, said Connect Europe whose members provide employment to over a million people in Europe. “But low returns on investment are forcing operators to entrust an increasing number of tasks to external providers with the risk of losing internal expertise, rather than offer direct, more stable employment opportunities. In 2024, the number of staff directly employed by Connect Europe members fell by 4.1 per cent.”
UNI Europa, the European trade union federation for services workers, teamed up with Connect Europe to call for a DNA that takes social partners into account. The organisation, that represents over seven million members across 242 national trade unions in 50 countries, argues that while Europeans enjoy benefit from affordable, high-quality connectivity, digital policy should also consider citizens and workers, not just consumers.
“While affordability remains an important aspect, we jointly call on policymakers to urgently act to grow the European connectivity ecosystem by prioritising quality investment, expanded innovation and increased competitiveness. Social partners have a fundamental role in accompanying the digital transition,” it said.
