A new digital infrastructure framework that fosters investment, innovation, and a harmonized digital market must be a priority in the next EU mandate

The GSMA and leading European mobile operators today announced the launch of ‘Connecting Europe to 2030: A Mobile Industry Manifesto for Europe’, outlining a strategic vision for Europe’s mobile connectivity sector. It calls for critical policy reforms to ensure that Europe’s digital economy, underpinned by strong, sustained network innovation, can reestablish a leadership position in the global tech race by 2030.

Europe finds itself at a pivotal moment, facing increased global competition, rising trade barriers, and a race for technological supremacy. The manifesto highlights the critical role of the mobile industry in advancing the EU’s digital agenda, as the continent aims for universal 5G coverage by 2030. However, achieving this vision requires addressing systemic challenges, including market fragmentation, regulatory hurdles, and investment barriers, which have stifled the European telecom sector’s growth and competitiveness.

The manifesto outlines several strategic areas for action, emphasizing the importance of next-generation connectivity, digital innovation, and the green transition. It showcases successful initiatives across Europe, from smart factories and digital toolkits for SMEs to pioneering projects in smart farming and city management, demonstrating the mobile sector’s potential to drive economic growth, sustainability, and societal benefits.

The manifesto calls on EU policymakers to embrace a new digital infrastructure framework that fosters investment, innovation, and a harmonized digital market. Recommendations include addressing the telecom market’s fragmentation, implementing more pro-investment spectrum policy, closing regulatory gaps between different digital service providers, and updating historically based rules to reflect current realities.

Laszlo Toth, Head of Europe and CIS for the GSMA, said “As Europe confronts significant geopolitical, economic, and societal shifts, and a rapidly developing global digital economy, urgent action to secure the continent’s digital future has never been more imperative. This manifesto represents a commitment to partnership and progress, laying the groundwork for Europe to reclaim its position as a global leader in digital technology and innovation, and build the next-generation infrastructure needed by European citizens and businesses to succeed and thrive beyond 2030”