At the beginning of this year, the European Commission presented its proposal for a new regulatory framework for connectivity to replace the current European Electronic Communications Code (EECC): the Digital Networks Act (DNA). As a contribution to the debate surrounding this initiative, Telefónica published a position paper setting out our perspective.
In this document, we highlight the urgency of advancing toward a regulatory framework that effectively promotes the development of digital infrastructure, fosters innovation, and strengthens Europe’s competitiveness. We also identify areas where the proposal could be more ambitious and what changes would allow the DNA to become a genuine driver of investment and Europe’s digital transformation.
Furthermore, we identify the main opportunities and challenges posed by the proposal and put forward a series of improvements that we believe are necessary to maximize its impact and contribute to the achievement of European objectives.
Building on this position paper, we launched a series of publications examining in greater depth five areas that we consider particularly relevant in determining the DNA’s ultimate impact.
Five Levers for a DNA that Strengthens the Competitiveness of Europe’s Telecommunications Sector
The first publication in the series, focusing on spectrum policy, examines one of the proposal’s most significant advances: the transition toward indefinite spectrum licences and automatic renewal by default. It also identifies areas requiring improvement, such as the immediate application of these measures to existing licences, so that the large number of licences expiring before 2030 are not excluded from their benefits.
The second publication, on access regulation, highlights the need to move away from ex ante intervention toward a market-driven framework in which regulation is exceptional, proportionate, and targeted exclusively at addressing clearly identified competition problems. It also emphasizes that the rules governing the migration from copper to fibre networks in countries where fibre deployment is still at an early stage should prioritize commercial criteria, enabling an efficient and orderly transition while ensuring continuity in service provision for both retail and wholesale customers.
The third publication in the series underscores the importance of repealing the ePrivacy framework and modernizing open internet regulation, two regulatory pillars inherited from a technological reality that dates back more than two decades and no longer reflects the current realities of the telecommunications sector.
The fourth publication, concerning the conciliation mechanism, stresses the need to make it binding and mandatory between network operators and traffic generators in order to address asymmetries in bargaining power.
Finally, the publication on security and resilience, which concludes the series, explains how the introduction of new resilience provisions creates sector-specific rules that duplicate and overlap with existing cybersecurity and cyber resilience requirements. This increases regulatory compliance complexity for the sector and creates legal uncertainty.
September: The Debate Enters a New Phase
Following the initial analysis and discussion of the proposal, September marks the beginning of a new phase in the legislative process. In the European Parliament, one of the next key milestones will be the publication of the draft report by the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), which is leading the Parliament’s work on the DNA. At the same time, discussions continue within the Council of the European Union under the Irish Presidency, which has made competitiveness and the simplification of the digital regulatory framework strategic priorities, in line with the One Europe, One Market Roadmap.
The coming months will therefore be critical in determining the level of ambition ultimately reflected in the Digital Networks Act.
The DNA was presented as a key initiative for achieving the connectivity objectives of the Digital Decade 2030, at a time when Europe still faces an investment gap of €250 billion. However, the proposal’s level of ambition has fallen short of expectations. In its current form, it is unlikely to enable Europe to meet its objectives, as it maintains structural elements that limit incentives to invest, may increase legal uncertainty, and preserve obligations on operators that originate from a previous era.
This is precisely where the European Parliament and the Council now have an opportunity: to pursue a more ambitious reform that moves beyond the EECC’s continuity-based approach and transforms the DNA into a genuine catalyst for investment, innovation, and competitiveness across the sector.
To achieve this, progress will be needed in measures that provide a stable long-term spectrum framework, make network access regulation more flexible and better adapted to the circumstances of individual markets, and simplify rules on open internet access and privacy, thereby helping to restore balance across the digital value chain.
Europe must create the conditions that will allow the networks underpinning artificial intelligence, cloud computing, edge computing, and new digital services to continue evolving, attracting investment, and driving innovation. The success of this transformation will depend on the ability of the co-legislators to deliver an ambitious reform that strengthens the European telecommunications sector.
Telefónica will continue to closely monitor developments surrounding the Digital Networks Act and will publish regular updates with our analysis of the key advances in the legislative process, as well as proposals aimed at contributing to the development of a regulatory framework that promotes European competitiveness and leadership.
