European Commission vice president Neelie Kroes has outlined proposals to cut the costs and bureaucracy involved in broadband deployment, suggesting that the sector could make savings of up to €60bn. Kroes said that she wants to “burn the red tape” that is blocking access for all EU citizens to cast broadband.
More than 99 per cent of European businesses are SMEs, yet the vast majority plan to change telecoms service provider at the end of their contract period, according to research published recently. The message is that the SME sector represents an enormous opportunity for CSPs to grow their revenues – but it is an opportunity they are not taking.
The European Commission (EC) has called on all EU member states to make spectrum around the 2GHz frequency band available for LTE services. The paired terrestrial 2 GHz band (1920-1980 MHz paired with 2110-2170 MHz) has been traditionally used for UMTS 3G networks, but the EC wants it to be liberalised for 4G services across the region.
Trending on Twitter isn’t a traditional political goal. Nor is having a Facebook page with thousands of friends. But that’s exactly the point. The European Commission’s Digital Agenda for Europe doesn’t want old school methods to talk to citizens or to broadcast its views. Instead, it wants to involve every European in critical decisions that will help stimulate Europe’s digital economy – knowing that these decisions are tightly linked to the European Union’s entire future.
Members of the European Parliament and representatives of the Council and the European Commission have voted in favour of new rules that will lower roaming rates in the EU and see the creation of an EU-wide roaming market.
International carrier Orange/France Telecom has committed itself to rolling out LTE networks across ten European countries by 2015. France Telecom’s CEO Stéphane Richard made the announcement at a meeting with the European Commission in Brussels this week.
Spain-based carrier Telefonica on Wednesday launched a European talent incubator, in a move clearly designed to make the brand seem hip and in touch with young people and the start-up community.
The European Parliament and the EU’s Council of Ministers is considering a proposal from the European Commission for an ambitious project, worth up to €100bn ($140bn), to fund the rollout of fibre broadband and associated services across the EU.
The heads of major European telcos and vendors have said that they need greater leeway from regulators to make the roll-out of high speed broadband networks economically viable. Ben Verwaayen, chief executive of Alcatel-Lucent, Deutsche Telekom boss Rene Obermann and head of Vivendi Jean-Bernard Levy, told the European Commission that regulators should reduce rules that block industry mergers and network sharing initiatives that would help the operators build scale and lower costs.
Many Europeans are unhappy with the speed of their broadband connection, a Eurobarometer study has found. The research, commissioned by the European Union, revealed that a third of all subscribers have suffered from loss of service at some point, while a quarter of them feel that the speeds they receive do not match their expectations based on the deal they signed up for.
The European Commission this week designated two providers to offer satellite-based media and communications services, allocating Inmarsat and Solaris Mobile spectrum in the 2GHz S-band.
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