– A single European market for telecoms is a crucial ingredient to create more growth and jobs in the EU. Business as usual is no longer an option if we want to translate this idea into reality, said Gunnar Hökmark, MEP and vice chairman of the EPP group in the European Parliament, rapporteur on the First Spectrum Program, at the ECTA Annual conference in Brussels today.
– The EU is no longer a global leader in telecoms. We are loosing the global 4G race and are lagging behind the rest of the world in the deployment of ultrafast broadband. Recognising the urgency of the situation is a first important step to regain our global leadership, underlined Gunnar Hökmark.
– While the current regulatory framework has served consumers and operators well we need to overcome the national structures on which the framework is built. We will never be able to create a single market for telecoms unless we create the right conditions for market players to easily operate on a 500 million consumer market, stressed Gunnar Hökmark
– To those voices that are calling for less competition and regulatory holidays I would like to ask: When in history has competition been negative for consumers, investments and innovation? The answer to the fragmentation of EU’s telecom markets is not less competition, but different rules that can encourage a pan-European competition between operators, concluded Gunnar Hökmark.