EU considers regulations to help telecoms offset network costs

EU authorities may relax mobile telecom merger prohibitions and expand regulations to encourage Big Tech and other investors to contribute to 5G development.

A European Commission document obtained by the media suggests that EU authorities may relax their prohibitions on mobile telecom mergers and expand telecom regulations in an effort to get Big Tech and other investors to contribute to the development of 5G.

For an extended period, EU antitrust regulators have been urged by Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, and Telecom Italia to relax regulations that prohibit mergers that lower the number of mobile providers from four to three unless significant remedies are provided. The paper, which Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager will deliver on February 21 and request input from all relevant parties, identifies over 100 fixed operators and about 50 mobile carriers operating within the European Union.

According to the study, operators may find it difficult to raise the capital required to invest in the networks of the future due to this fragmented market along national borders, particularly in light of cross-border services. The letter also stated that if cloud services and electronic communications networks become more integrated, the current telecom regulations may have a wider application.

More than half of all internet traffic, according to telecom carriers, is driven by Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Meta, Amazon.com, Apple, and Microsoft Corp. These companies should contribute to the cost of the network expansion.