Latest news with #RenateNikolay
Euronews
10-04-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Enforcing existing digital rules will help reduce strain on networks, says EU official
ADVERTISEMENT Proper enforcement of EU online platform rules – the Digital Services and Markets Acts – will help reduce the burden on telecom network infrastructures, a senior European Commission official tasked with framing new telecom network rules said in Brussels on Thursday. Renate Nikolay, the deputy director-general at the Commissions' DG Connect, told an event organised by Vodafone in Brussels on Thursday that the right type of enforcement of the existing rules would impact on mobile traffic. The Commission is aiming to publish the Digital Networks Act (DNA), an overhaul of the bloc's telecom rules to address connectivity issues, by the end of this year. 'For example, when it comes to rules for the protection of minors online will make a difference in social media use: we should not have constant loops to keep users online,' she said. She added that the same applies to practices of online marketplaces, such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress. The Commission has begun a few probes into recommender systems, which aim to keep users browsing online, for a lack of transparency. Telecom providers have been in favour of a fairer spread of costs for infrastructure with large users of their networks, including streaming platforms. The high demand for connectivity means a lot of extra costs for the big telecom players, they claim. Related EU member states enter discussions on future of networks act Vodafone EU chief: Telecoms barriers can't just be blamed on Brussels EU Commission warns overlapping rules offer loopholes for Big Tech Vodafone recently presented a paper on the 'responsible use of networks' which states that content providers, 'who do not bear the cost of using networks, lack the incentive to use them in a responsible manner.' Joakim Reiter, Vodafone's Chief External and Corporate Affairs Officer, called at the same event for the end of a sectoral approach to regulation actors in the telecom space. 'Whenever we offer a very similar service like a competitor, but that company is not regulated under telecom rules, we will end up with very different costs,' Reiter said. He said that more horizontal regulation would be needed. Microsoft's Director EU Government Affairs Tomas Jakimavičius said that his company has been very involved in the build-out of tech infrastructure – including data centers, sub sea cables and devices — through partnerships. 'We would need to look at the root of the problem and the current framework before proposing new rules,' he said. So far, member states have been split about the plans for more telecom rules and questioned their necessity.
Euronews
28-01-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Europe's 5G coverage lagging amid declining investment: report
Europe's 5G standalone coverage is significantly lagging behind the US and Asia, according to a report published on Tuesdayby telecom lobby Connect Europe. In Europe, the coverage of standalone 5G – which operates independently from existing 4G infrastructure and is used for industrial purposes – is at 40%, while it reaches 91% of the population in North America, and 45% in Asia Pacific, the report finds on the basis of research conducted by consulting firm Analysys Mason. Meanwhile non-standalone 5G networks in Europe reached 87% of the population in 2023, up from 80% the previous year, while comparable figures from South Korea (99%), the US (98%), Japan (97%), and China (90%) were all higher. In 2021 the European Commission set a target for all EU households connected to 5G by 2030. However, Renate Nikolay, deputy director-general at the commission's digital unit, already warned last year that the EU is still behind in connectivity, despite efforts to speed up the roll-out of high-capacity networks, compared to other regions in the world. The low roll-out means that other technologies that are dependent on fast internet, such as artificial intelligence, will face delays in uptake. The Connect Europe report estimates that by the end of this decade more than 8% of the EU population – some 45.4 million people – will still be without access to a fixed gigabit connection. Investment drop At the same time, the bloc's telecom sector saw a 2% drop in investment in 2023, when it fell to €57.9 billion from €59.1 billion in the previous year, the report says. Against this backdrop the European Commission is set to publish a proposal to overhaul telecom rules – the Digital Networks Act – during this mandate. The plan, set to be published next year, is meant to address problems with connectivity, spectrum and investment. It was spearheaded by former Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, who himself was a former CEO of France Telecom. Henna Virkkunen, EU Commissioner for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, has been tasked by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with 'working on a new Digital Networks Act, to help boost secure high-speed broadband, both fixed and wireless', according to her mission letter.
