It is really impressive”, said yesterday the European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services, the Frenchman Thierry Breton, after verifying the tens of thousands of attendees on his first day at the Mobile World Congress. His first work session was intense, having several meetings with telecommunications companies, technological platforms and political institutions (he had a meeting with the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès) and also with a small group of international journalists, in addition to La Vanguardia. , with whom he shared some reflections.
What exactly “impresses” you?
The feeling that we are experiencing a huge change in trends in the networks. The networks will make a difference. We all know this and we are very aware of it in the European Commission. We are going to have our digital decade. We want every European citizen to be fully connected by 2030. But today’s network is neither yesterday’s nor tomorrow’s. That is why we have launched a broad consultation among all interested parties.
And what will these networks be like in the future?
They will allow a large amount of data, but also computing, with very short latency times and in a secure digital environment. Many of these features will have to be put together to create what is called Web 4.0. Our goal is for Europe to lead this race. I see a huge appetite in this area from everyone I’ve met with, telcos, regulators and consumers. As of now we have 12 weeks ahead of us and then we will see the results.
But here there was a lot of controversy when you referred to the fact that technology companies have to put “their fair share” for the use of the networks. Because the fear is that consumers will have to pay multiple times to use the internet. They already pay telecommunications companies and may have to shell out even more to subscribe to the platforms in the future.
I don’t know what the result of the query will be. What I know is that sometimes platforms look at the world through their businesses. And telecommunications companies sometimes too. I propose a new approach: benefit the consumer. Once this is done, we’ll discuss how much we need to invest, what should be a smart return on equity or capital employed, and then ask: Is the regulation fit for purpose? Do we need to change a regulation? We will have zero taboos. And of course we have to discuss who should pay what.
What exactly do you mean when you say “Europe has to lead the race”?
That we will have to find a financing model for the huge investments needed that respects and preserves the fundamental elements of our European acquis: the end user’s freedom of choice, guaranteed by our rules on net neutrality, and the freedom to offer services under conditions fair and competitive equality rights, guaranteed today by our new digital regulations.
Do you want to start a kind of “Europe First”?
I’m not naïve. I understand the discussion between European telecommunications operators and American technology companies. But yes, in this sense I think it is the first time that Europe has launched this great consultation and initiative to decide what network we need.
And aren’t the US firms you’ve met with worried about having to shell out more to use European networks?
I’ve been with a lot of corporate America who don’t care at all about the debate. They will participate, and I strongly encourage them to participate, of course, just as we did when we launched the big consultation before we presented our solution and legislation on digital directives. I am confident that we will find an ideal solution for everyone.
Is there a timetable to implement this new system?
After three months, my team will work hard to digest the results. I think we can finish before the summer. I have already spoken a lot with the Spanish government, with President Pedro Sánchez, with Vice President Nadia Calviño, because the proposal will be formalized under the Spanish presidency of the EU. And, of course, I hope that we can start the discussion and negotiation with the Spanish Government right away. But again, remember that we’ve been able to do all the legislation for our satellite transport in nine months. So we’ll try. No time to lose.
Do you think there should be more mergers in Europe?
We are not making the most of the potential of our single EU market with its 440 million citizens It is time we seriously discussed the potential obstacles to cross-border consolidation of electronic communications providers in the EU, as well as the benefits of an integrated market for radio spectrum.
