Joint Statement of DIGITALEUROPE, ETNO and the GSMA on the outcome of the spectrum trilogue

Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl – Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE, Lise Fuhr – Director General of ETNO and Afke Schaart – VP and Head of Europe at the GSMA, issued the following joint statement:

“We know that reaching political agreement on EU spectrum reform is no easy task and we appreciate the co-legislators’ efforts to advance negotiations. However, we are deeply disappointed that the compromise reached last week fails to confront the long-term challenges, falls short of boosting the region’s competitiveness on the global stage and does not establish a credible regulatory path towards 5G in Europe.

While we acknowledge constructive commitments regarding the award of some key 5G bands, the co-legislators clearly did not address the main issues: ensuring meaningful convergence of spectrum awards across the Member States and reassuring investors that licenses will have a longer duration compared to the status quo.

With the previous agreement on small cells, Europe has shown that seemingly difficult provisions can be solved to ensure a more solid and scalable EU market. This should not be just an exception and we stand united on asking all co-legislators to come together to achieve a better deal for the EU’s global technological competitiveness.”