The mobile industry’s public response to the Digital Networks Act outlines areas the new legislation can improve investment conditions in Europe and ultimately create a best-in-class digital ecosystem
Brussels, 16 June 2026: The GSMA, on behalf of Europe’s mobile operators, has published its detailed response to the Digital Networks Act with clear asks around key policy areas including spectrum, horizontal rules, and a level playing field across the digital ecosystem.
Following the DNA’s draft publication in January, the mobile sector was clear on the opportunities for improvement, in particular in addressing the inconsistent levels of ambition across the whole proposal.
The GSMA’s position paper is a constructive approach towards improving the DNA and delivering impactful and long-lasting change that can underpin Europe’s digital growth and restore the bloc to a competitive footing globally.
In particular, the mobile industry calls for:
- The streamlining of duplicative and outdated rules, particularly where horizontal frameworks already exist, and the avoidance of introducing new reporting requirements for operators
- The modernisation of Open Internet rules, most notably greater flexibility for traffic management, differentiated quality of service and freedom of choice for B2C services, the exclusion of B2B services from the scope, and the extension of these principles to all relevant actors in the value chain
- A mandatory, binding dispute resolution mechanism for mobile operators to negotiate with large traffic generators, overseen by the European Commission rather than BEREC
- The embracing of the draft proposals on spectrum management and in particular licence duration and renewal, with the immediate adoption of automatic renewals in light of hundreds of imminent expirations
- The repeal of the ePrivacy Directive while maintaining the principle of confidentiality of communications in a horizontal framework
- The removal of harmful interlinkages with the Cybersecurity Act
- A “same service, same rules” approach for mobile network operators and satellite providers
The DNA arrived amid wide acceptance that Europe needs urgent action to avoid falling further behind well-established global digital leaders, most notably China, the USA and the Gulf States, and ideally to start to bridge that connectivity gap, following high-profile reports by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi on the bloc’s lack of competitiveness in the digital age.
Recent GSMA research has since calculated that €475 billion of infrastructure investment is required over the next decade for European connectivity standards to regain a competitive footing. Of this, only €270 billion is forecast as being accessible to mobile operators in the EU, leaving a shortfall of more than €200 billion.
Longstanding overregulation within the sector is a major contributor to investment uncertainty and therefore there is a clear and urgent opportunity for the DNA to address this and provide the clarity operators need to unlock capital and drive European industry, security, resilience and innovation.
Laszlo Toth, Head of Europe at the GSMA, comments: “Europe’s global digital standing cannot improve if we continue to do the same things that have led to other markets seizing the initiative in AI, quantum and other innovation. Digital infrastructure must be viewed as a critical priority given its role in supporting Europe’s citizens and businesses.
“In its current form, the DNA does not do enough to transform Europe into the digital powerhouse it ought to be or deliver on its original ambition to make the bloc competitive once again. Our hope is that targeted, forward-thinking amendments around key elements of the draft will help provide the simplification, consistency and certainty that can unlock the additional investment needed for Europe to thrive.”