DIGITAL AGENDA : INCUMBENT OPERATORS PRESS FOR NEW THINKING.

Incumbent telecoms operators are calling for a reorientation of the EU regulatory framework for their sector. The current rules, they say, are not adapted to the huge challenges facing the industry.

It is time to "think out of the box," writes Luigi Gambardella, president of the association representing telecommunications network operators (ETNO), to the Greek Minister for Development, Infrastructure and Networks Michalis Chrisochoidis. In an open letter, dated 14 January and sent to the Greek Council Presidency(1), the incumbent operators encourage Athens to revisit the objectives of the EU's Digital Agenda before the end of June. Such a review is announced in the Presidency's programme but is not among the top ten priorities of the outgoing European Commission.

The revision is considered timely because the EU is a long way from the targets set in 2010 (see graph). According to the Commission's June 2013 assessment(2), "The take-up of high-speed broadband has started to accelerate, but is still very far away from the levels desired for 2020". The target of "20% of citizens shopping online cross-border by 2015 is certain to be missed". Its evaluation could not have been clearer.

ETNO voices concerns in its letter that the debate is not ambitious enough given the level of challenges ahead. In 2017, "the gigabyte equivalent of all movies ever made will cross Western Europe's backbone IP networks every 21 minutes," predicts Gambardella. The figures demonstrate that "the traditional paradigm regulating only networks no longer responds to the gigantic challenge," he...