The European Commission opened a new foreign subsidies investigation into a commercial acquisition that would see UAE state-owned Emirates Telecommunications Group Company (e&), be in 'sole control' of the European telecom operator PPF Telecom, according to a press release.
Reforms of the telecom sector are expected to be at the top of the policy agenda for the next EU mandate and a battle is already heating up over the need to deregulate it.
While most politicians and lawmakers have been discussing enlargement prospects for the EU, others have quietly worked to bring together EU citizens and their European neighbours in a much more technical but tangible way: telecommunications.
France's regulator Arcep is not fully on board with the European Commission's 'one-size-fits-all' approach to deregulating its telecoms sector, said president Laure de la Raudière, in a speech.
Big Tech should be made accountable for their environmental footprint at an EU level, by being incentivised to design digital services in a sustainable way, said Arcep’s President Laure de la Raudière, in a speech.
The 4G telecoms patents owner Sun Patents Trust has "summoned" Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi to a Paris court, according to a Wednesday (29 May) press release, and may be looking for witness testimony from the European telecommunications standardisation body.
Experts are questioning the legality and effectiveness of France's ban of TikTok in New Caledonia, imposed on Wednesday (15 May) to contain widespread protests that rocked the French overseas territory in the South Pacific.
The much-anticipated Letta Report on the Single Market contained many strong recommendations. Jennifer Baker spoke with Enrico Letta to discuss what he hopes for in practice, with a deep dive into telecommunications.
The European Parliament approved on Tuesday (23 April) the EU’s broadband act, the Gigabit Infrastructure Act (GIA), which aims to accelerate the deployment of high-capacity networks and reduce prices for consumers
Laying out his vision of a harmonised single market in the telecommunications sector, former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta aligned with some of the talking points by the EU's largest telecom players, according to a draft report seen by Euractiv.
The EU's telecoms standards institute will have a new leader who will have to navigate the body's relationship with the Commission.
Telecoms is one of the "primary reason[s] for Europe's declining competitiveness," according to a draft of Letta's report seen by Euractiv.
A group of Europe's 18 major industry players insist on cloud sovereignty requirements.
Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton told Members of the European Parliament that the Commission will need "extra time" to present the European Space Law legislative proposal, possibly after June's EU elections.
Amid a cooled relationship with the EU Commission, the bloc's telecoms standardisation body is set to elect a new leader on April 16.
The role of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications needs to change, given the expanding regulatory scope of its members in broader ecosystems, said Kamila Kloc in an interview with Euractiv.
The battle to lead the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), one of the most influential organisations in setting the technical standards for key global technologies, has entered a decisive phase amid continued tension with the EU executive.
The European Commission accepted on Tuesday (20 February the €18.6 billion deal between Orange and MásMóvil in Spain, provided that spectrum bandwidths are divested to the Romanian mobile operator Digi.
The Commission announced a consultation on EU's telecom market, open until June and committed to a post-quantum cryptography recommendation, when presenting its connectivity package.
The European Commission's submarine cable recommendation, seen by Euractiv, suggests phasing out risky providers of telecom subsea cables but does not propose any new form of financial assistance.
Looking into how technology will impact the EU's telecom industry, the Commission has been put into writing its thoughts regarding a regulation of cloud providers and an updated version of the fair share tax.
EU telecom associations have criticised the course pursued by negotiators on the Gigabit Infrastructure Act, saying the text will allow the speeding up of telecom infrastructure roll-out but will have a minimal impact due to shrinking returns on investments.
Representatives of the EU Council, Commission, and Parliament agreed on a compromise text of the Gigabit Infrastructure Act: the tacit approval remains a voluntary principle while the abolition of intra-EU communication 'surcharges' is set for 2029-2032.
Ahead of the third political inter-institutional negotiation on 5 February on an EU regulation to speed up 5G and fiber roll out, co-legislators are dedicated to find compromises on the most political topics: the tacit approval principle and intra-EU communication fees.
