25 March, 2021

Connectivity & Beyond: How Telcos Can Accelerate a Digital Future for All

Cover MQ websiteEurope’s telcos want to raise the ambition. Digital opportunities are big part of the future for the economy and for society. Research shows that 5G alone can generate €113 billion an annual GDP impact and 2.4 million new jobs in 2025 in Europe.

BCG analysis shows that €150 billion investment is still needed to achieve a full 5G deployment in Europe. We—the European telecoms sector—call for urgent and swift action to mobilize all the resources needed so that Europe can build on this foundation to do much more. Our ambition, as a sector, is to achieve positive societal impact and support our economies and our societies in the green and digital transitions. Essential services, such as education and health care, depend more and more on digital delivery. Entire industries are digitalizing fast, but the work towards full digitalization is still incomplete. Sustainability and climate change are today top issues for us and for our customers, and we are in a strong position to help.

We have a clear vision. Our own futures as businesses depend on our ability to deliver innovative products and services, built on the foundation of high-speed and secure connectivity, that enable others to do more in a sustainable digital economy and society.

European cooperation is the starting point. Policy makers and the telecom industry have long debated the proper role for, and rules regulating, Europe’s telcos. Meanwhile, technologies advance, startups armed with new tech and business models disrupt long-established industries, and consumers embrace new ways of doing things. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global reset in how we lead our lives.

Looking ahead to the rest of this decade and beyond, we see big challenges for the European integration project and equally big opportunities for Europe’s digital future. Europe needs to up its game. It has the know-how and the resources; it has been a leader in such technologies as cellular communications and semiconductor design. Having opened substantial leads in foundational technologies such as cloud, the US and China are now making rapid progress on the advanced technologies of the future such as artificial intelligence, spatial computing, and, in time, quantum computing. Europe needs to move forward together, now.

Here are five critical areas in which telcos can make a difference and play a leadership role for the benefit of the whole of Europe:

1. Constructing the Full Foundation | Networks and Connectivity

2. Taking the Lead | European Solutions for Data and Services

3. Expanding the Reach of Opportunity | Digitalization of the Economy and Society

4. Advancing the Readiness of Europe’s Citizens | Digital Skills

5. Energizing the Spirit of European Innovation | Industrial Strategy and Cooperation

Read the full report at the link below. 

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