Transatlantic Tech Relations: Joint Statement of the Telecom Industry

Brussels, Washington D.C., 16 June 2021 – ETNO and USTelecom – The Broadband Association, the leading trade associations for telecom operators and broadband providers in the EU and the U.S. respectively, welcome the strengthening of the transatlantic dialogue on industrial and policy approaches to technology.

Connectivity and Beyond: How Telcos Can Accelerate a Digital Future For All

Europe can create 2.4 million new jobs by leveraging a €300bn digital network investment

Brussels, 25 March 2021 – Europe can create 2.4 million new jobs within the next four years through digital transformation, while boosting economic growth and accelerating green transformation. This will require a €300bn effort in terms of telecoms network investment, with additional action required to stimulate demand and digital upskilling. These are the key findings of the new report “Connectivity and Beyond: How Telcos Can Accelerate a Digital Future For All”, which was released today by Europe’s leading telecoms association ETNO and prepared by global management consulting firm BCG.

Joint Statement by ETNO and the GSMA on the European Green Digital Coalition

Telecom CEOs join European Green Digital Coalition, commit to green and digital transformation

Brussels, 19 March 2021 – Today, 13 European telecom CEOs became founding members of the European Green Digital Coalition, and pledged their companies would be climate neutral by 2040 at the latest to accelerate the European Commission’s green ambitions.

Women in tech: #IChooseToChallenge the status quo

By Lise Fuhr, Director General, ETNO

Today is about celebrating women in all regions of the world. The International Women’s Day is a reminder that opportunity must be equally accessible to all of us, irrespective of gender. A digital and analogue society in which we are fairly represented is the first step towards inclusion. From an economic standpoint, it will also ignite growth. The topic of this year’s March 8 celebrations is #IChooseToChallenge, inviting women all around the world to challenge the status quo. This is why, as ETNO’s Director General, I choose to challenge the lack of women in tech.

Supply chain accountability: a priority for Europe’s cybersecurity policy

By Paolo Grassia, Director of Policy Affairs, ETNO

It is not an understatement to say that the SolarWinds hack is, in Microsoft President Brad Smith’s words, “the largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen”. At least 18.000 customers of software company SolarWinds were affected by a backdoor that allowed state-sponsored hackers to compromise U.S. government agencies, leading technology firms, and other notable targets worldwide. The full extent of the hacking campaign is still being investigated, and its consequences are still unravelling.

Digital Upskilling for All: improving gender diversity of telecom workforce

On 25 February, the social partners from the EU telecom sector, ETNO and UNI Europa, organized a virtual round table conference: Deep Dive on Digital Upskilling Best Practices to increase gender diversity of telecom workforce.  

The meeting was part of a joint ETNO-UNI Europa social dialogue Project funded with the financial support of the EU commission. 52 representatives from 24 companies/organizations participated in the full day event and were joined by Mercer Consulting, who helped with the preparation of the digital round table. The meeting was translated simultaneously from English into 4 languages (French, Portuguese, Polish and Spanish) by Oluseyi. 

ePrivacy: European telcos support a strong alignment with GDPR

This statement has been released by ETNO and by the GSMA

Brussels, 10 February 2021 – Europe’s telecommunication industry is fully committed to the principle of confidential communications and supports the Continent’s ambition to lead the data economy. European citizens deserve access to digital services that are trustworthy and based on European values.

The telecommunications sector recognises the significant efforts undertaken by the Portuguese Presidency, which led to an agreement at this week’s COREPER. The introduction of the principle of compatible further processing of metadata, and of the risk-based approach, are important steps in the right direction when it comes to aligning the ePrivacy with the GDPR.

A telecoms viewpoint on the EU-U.K. agreement

ETNO welcomes the achievement of the EU-U.K. Trade and Cooperation Agreement. An agreement on the future relationship between the U.K. and the European Union is of great importance to ETNO members and the whole telecommunication industry. Telecom network operators active in the U.K. are pan-European operators. Furthermore, in a time of deep transformations for telecommunications and digital markets overall, the EU and U.K. remain intrinsically connected as they face the same challenges and opportunities.

New Report: Europe behind on key digital metrics, telcos essential to achieve leadership

Brussels, 29 January 2021 – At a time in which the EU is striving for digital sovereignty, fresh data shows that Europe is trailing global peers on key network roll-out and digital investment metrics, including on 5G, AI and network investment. Despite this, Europe shows progress with respect to last year, with more people covered by 5G, innovative services on the rise and the green transition picking up speed. These are some of the key findings of the 2021 “State of Digital Communications” Report, launched today by ETNO, Europe’s leading telecoms association, and prepared by leading research firm Analysys Mason.