Two years into the European Commission’s Digital Decade, the EU’s vision of pursuing a human-centric, sustainable vision for a digital society, the connectivity target of “Gigabit for everyone, 5G everywhere” has never felt more urgent. Mobile networks are vital to economic recovery and future crisis resilience and can support a green and digital transformation across Europe. As economies and societies around the world digitalise, the acceleration of 5G in Europe is essential to maintain and amplify Europe’s industrial and manufacturing strengths.

Industry stakeholders claim that the current regulatory environment is creating an investment gap, stifling innovation, and that market conditions in Europe mean investment capital for telecom operators is hard to come by. As a result, they say that over the past decade, Europe has invested 40% less per capita in its telecom networks than the US. The industry also argues that regulatory interventions and resistance to consolidation artificially distort competition, leading to poorer service and outcomes for consumers and businesses.

The right conditions for private infrastructure investment, network modernisation, and digital innovation are needed for accelerating Europe’s digital future. A financially sustainable mobile sector is key to the delivery of innovative services and the deployment of new networks. 5G has the potential to deliver a significant amount of value to the region if the mobile sector and policymakers find the right regulatory balance.

Relisten to this EURACTIV event to find out where the EU is on 5G development and how Europe’s digital competitiveness compares to other regions. Addressed questions included:

- How can policymakers ensure that national and EU level regulations are in line with the Digital Decade targets?
- What policies could drive economic growth and social welfare when it comes to 5G connectivity in Europe?
- How can the upcoming Connectivity Infrastructure Act facilitate full 5G coverage in the EU?