Mind the Gap: Empowering Europe through Connectivity

Save the date: on 10 March, join us for an online debate on the future of connectivity in Europe.

Together with our high-level speakers and guests, we will explore Europe’s connectivity strategy and goals, trying to answer the questions: are they ambitious enough? Why is Europe lagging behind the rest of the world in 5G uptake? And what can we do concretely to ensure that fast networks are finally a reality for all?

For the occasion, we will launch our new survey on the state of connectivity in Europe, outlining the major roadblocks as well as the key recommendations to overcome them.

More information on the event

The Covid crisis has made it clear that digital connectivity is not a luxury. If digital connectivity is fundamental, then fast, reliable, and robust digital infrastructure is the foundation. Significant progress has already been made in providing broadband internet access to European households over the past ten years. Broadband internet access was used by 88 % of households in the EU-27 in 2019, 33 percentage points higher than in 2009 (55 %).

Connectivity is at the forefront of recent work publication of the European Commission’s digital agenda. The EU 2025 Connectivity objectives for 2025 aspire to have 100 Mbps networks reaching all European households, with the possibility of upgrading those networks to reach much higher speeds. The Digital Decade 2030 targets envision that all European households will be covered by a Gigabit network, with all populated areas covered by 5G.

However, deployment of very high-capacity networks has been slow in Europe, despite being home to 2 out of 3 of the major infrastructure providers. At the same time, in rural areas, only 59% of households had access to a fast broadband connection of at least 30 Mbps compared to 86% of households in all areas overall.

In order to identify the best way to ensure access to reliable and seamless connectivity for all European citizens, DIGITALEUROPE has prepared a paper on connectivity. A perception survey was designed by DIGITALEUROPE, who collected responses from a total of 16 connectivity experts from member companies and NTAs, and subsequently aggregated the results.

During this event, we will present and discuss the conclusions and recommendations of our paper. After the presentation of the recommendations, an interactive discussion, with brief introductory remarks from the invited speakers followed by a longer moderated session, will take place.

To prepare for the discussions, watch Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark debate with DIGITALEUROPE Director-General Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl about Europe’s connectivity strategy, why we are lagging behind on 5G uptake, and how we can leverage public and private investments to bring fast networks to all citizens and businesses.