I:10
Europe’s leading TelCo CEOs came together on February 27 at MWC24 to demand a “New Deal” for the Telecommunications Industry.
They argue that the telecommunications industry in Europe is falling behind and needs far-reaching regulatory changes.
- Allow more consolidation in the TelCo Industry. Building four 5G Networks in parallel is not efficient.
- Change Policy on Spectrum. No one wants to invest without longterm security.
- Level the playing field. Giants from the U.S. cannot have regulatory advantages.
According to the presenter, it had never happened before that all major CEOs, who are usually rivals, came together to appeal for regulatory changes.
Assessment
In my 8+ years of investing, I have never seen all the major CEOs of one industry demand regulatory changes in a joint, well-made presentation. Therefore, I think the process is remarkable.
Crucially, it appears that regulators are listening. This can be seen by increasing consolidations, a possible extension of frequencies in Germany and EU commissioner for Internal Markets Thierry Breton calling for spectrum allocations based on commitments of fast network rollouts and not auctions.