05 December, 2013
Press release: EU Telecoms Ministers discuss key files for the future of the telecoms industry
Telecoms Ministers met today in Brussels for the TTE Council to discuss key legislative files, including measures on cyber security and reduction of broadband roll-out costs. Ministers also held an orientation debate on the Connected Continent Regulation (full agenda available here).
At a time in which the digital economy is developing at a fast pace and telecoms markets are transforming, these legislative initiatives provide a unique opportunity to adapt EU’s policy framework to the digital age. Below you find a summary of ETNO’s public positions on these files.
Connected Continent Regulation
ETNO members share the Commission’s diagnosis of the situation of the telecoms sector in Europe: decreasing revenues and profitability, lower investments, and lack of adequate scale and scope are the main barriers that hamper European firms’ ability to compete on the global marketplace.
For this reason, ETNO is committed to cooperate with the co-legislators to make sure that the Connected Continent Regulation effectively tackles the current problems of the sector. The improvements that we suggest are aimed at achieving four main objectives: a regulatory environment that fosters investments in Next Generation Networks, measures resulting in a positive impact on the sector’s investment capacity, the acceleration of the deployment of mobile networks and the adoption of Open internet rules supporting service differentiation and quality.
Read our position paper here.
NIS Directive
ETNO believes that cross-sector regulation should replace sector-specific frameworks, especially at a time in which technological developments are revolutionizing the traditional value chain.
For this reason, we welcome the proposed NIS Directive, as it constitutes a first fundamental step towards recognizing the importance of security throughout the entire value chain.
More specifically, we call for the co-legislators to take into account that e-Communication providers are already subject to several obligations in the information security field. We would therefore welcome further clarification on the relationship between the various existing risk management and incident reporting frameworks (Telecoms package, draft Regulation on e-identification).
Read our reflection document here.
Reduction of broadband roll-out cost
ETNO members welcome the ongoing work to advance crucial proposals aimed at lowering the cost of rolling-out NGA networks and the move towards more symmetric regulation. We also welcome improvements that would further support high speed broadband deployment and avoid imposing unnecessary burdens on the companies that invest.
Read our previous release on this topic here.
For media inquiries: Alessandro Gropelli, Head of Communications and Media, gropelli@etno.eu, 0032 (0) 4769 41839, Twitter: @ETNOAssociation
