LIVE FROM THE FT-ETNO DIGITAL AGENDA SUMMIT, BRUSSELS: The mobile industry this morning warned of a ‘lack of incentives’ to invest in the mobile Internet ecosystem. A panel of CEOs from European mobile operator groups and network infrastructure suppliers joined the conference to warn that a modern regulatory framework is needed to address exploding demand in the mobile Internet space. The industry called for lower taxes, more efficient and affordable spectrum allocation and fewer bureaucratic issues which lead to ‘uber-regulation’.
Neelie Kroes, VP of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, kicked off the debate by asking the mobile operator community to boost investments in next-generation infrastructure, yet Franco Bernabe, CEO of Telecom Italia and Chairman of the GSM Association, stated that "we live in a Kafkian world," suggesting that asymmetric regulations are blocking any positive developments. The recent LTE spectrum auction in Italy illustrated the point that regulators gathered some
EUR4 billion from operators in exchange for spectrum which will not be made available for a further two years.
Bernabe claimed that since the last meeting between the mobile industry and the European Commission on 13 July, the situation has not improved. “Prices are falling, revenues are falling, cash flows are falling, market capitalisation is melting down. There’s a sense of urgency and incentives are needed for getting this digital agenda accomplished,” he said, echoing the views of other CEOs who joined the conference panel.
Network CEOs joined the conference to promote a new regulatory model which would help to turn the mobile broadband segment into a profitable one, joining operators’ efforts to adapt their business models to changing demand, notably with the introduction of tiered pricing to tackle data traffic congestion issues. Furthermore, CEOs reminded the audience that for every 1,000 broadband connections, 80 net jobs are created (according to a study by Arthur D Little), enhancing the impact the mobile industry has on European social developments.
Franco Bernabe closed his speech by claiming that “we need to go back to basics” with regards to regulatory frameworks, suggesting that “regulators have to address the complexity of our sector.”