Under this evocative title and within the framework of Cátedras Telefónica, a multidisciplinary group of experts from academia, industry, government and regulatory authorities has reflected on the challenges facing Europe’s digital infrastructure and services. This reflection has been carried out within the Cátedras Telefónica on Economy, Society and Digital Transformation at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
The outcome of this analysis and debate has crystallised in the report “Desafíos y oportunidades para las infraestructuras digitales en Europa”, presented on 24 February 2026 at the conference “Digital Europe: Regulatory, Technological and Competitiveness Challenges”, held at the Secretariat of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure and inaugurated by the Secretary of State, Matías González, and the Vice‑President of the CNMC, Ángel García Castillejo.
The report provides an assessment of digital infrastructure and services in the European Union (EU), identifying key strengths and weaknesses and, on that basis, putting forward recommendations aligned with EU policy objectives such as strategic autonomy, infrastructure security and resilience, and the promotion of European competitiveness.
State of the art of European digital infrastructure
Europe is at a pivotal moment of transformation amid intensifying global technological competition. Digital infrastructure – including fibre optics, advanced mobile networks, data centres and high‑capacity connectivity – constitutes a critical strategic asset underpinning competitiveness, technological sovereignty and social cohesion. Its robustness and capacity to evolve will largely determine the European Union’s ability to compete with global powers such as the United States and China, both in digital services and in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and automation.
However, the EU remains characterised by a highly fragmented market, shaped by 27 national regulatory frameworks, administrative barriers and uneven infrastructure deployment. This fragmentation constrains cross‑border investment and limits operators’ ability to achieve the economies of scale required to compete effectively at global level.
These structural divisions are reflected in significant disparities in the coverage of very high‑capacity networks—both fixed (fibre‑to‑the‑home) and mobile (5G)—with persistent gaps between urban and rural areas. As a result, citizens face unequal access to value‑added digital services such as digital health, connected industry and remote working.
Europe continues to rely on non‑European technologies, equipment and suppliers in critical areas such as network equipment, semiconductors and cloud services. This dependence puts the EU’s digital sovereignty at risk, limiting its ability to set standards, protect data and respond autonomously to technological or geopolitical crises.
At the same time, European digital infrastructures face growing risks stemming from cyberattacks, physical disruptions and vulnerabilities in global supply chains, making network resilience a critical prerequisite for the continuity of essential services.
The deployment of advanced capabilities such as 5G Standalone, network slicing and edge computing is essential to sustaining competitiveness across industrial and service sectors. While Europe has achieved notable technological progress, the pace of adoption and large‑scale deployment often falls short of global market demands, gradually eroding Europe’s position within the global digital ecosystem.
European regulation has played a decisive role in shaping the digital landscape, traditionally prioritising market entry and linking competition intensity to the number of operators. However, this approach has also reinforced fragmentation, limiting the ability of telecommunications operators to scale up and compete with global players. Enabling the achievement of economies of scale – through consolidation that results in economically sustainable and rational market structures – is therefore critical to attracting investment into Europe’s digital infrastructure sector.
Recommendations for boosting digital infrastructure
Based on this diagnosis, we propose recommendations to strengthen digital infrastructure as a key element in improving the competitiveness of the European economy.
Harmonise and modernise the regulatory framework
- Implement more coherent and harmonised regulations at European level that reduce administrative barriers to deployment.
- Simplify authorisation and licensing processes for pan-European projects.
- Align the Digital Networks Act (DNA) with investment incentives.
Stimulate private and public investment
- Fiscal and financial incentives to attract private capital to key infrastructure, especially in rural and less profitable areas.
- Financial mechanisms through European funds that support emerging technologies and strategic developments, promoting public-private co-investment structures.
Facilitate the consolidation and scaling of operators.
- Review policies that limit operator consolidation to allow for more integrated and competitive markets.
- Strategic alliances between European operators to create economies of scale.
Strengthen resilience and cybersecurity
- Operational resilience mechanisms, security audits, incident drills and network redundancies.
- Collaboration between operators, authorities and cyberattack response centres.
- Protect critical supply chains to reduce vulnerabilities arising from external dependencies.
Promote innovation and future technologies
- Deployment of edge data centres, advanced computing nodes, AI-ready networks and low-latency services.
- Research and development in technologies such as 6G, IoT, and flexible network architectures.
Foster social cohesion and universal coverage
- Policies that guarantee universal coverage of gigabit and 5G networks.
- Integration of digital infrastructure with territorial policies and social cohesion to bridge internal digital divides.
The report ” Desafíos y oportunidades para las infraestructuras digitales en Europa” offers a clear diagnosis: despite advances in fibre optic and 5G deployments, Europe faces structural challenges such as market fragmentation, excessive regulation, investment deficits and external technological dependence.
For digital infrastructures to act as a lever for global competitiveness, strategic autonomy and digital sovereignty, a harmonised regulatory framework is essential to encourage investment, facilitate consolidation processes that generate economies of scale and strengthen the security and resilience of networks.
The coordinated implementation of these recommendations will enable the EU to achieve its connectivity objectives for 2030 and position itself as a relevant, competitive and autonomous player in the global digital economy.
