Delivering the Digital Decade: Confronting Europe’s Connectivity Investment Gap 

The European Union has set ambitious targets under the Digital Decade Policy Programme (DDPP), including universal gigabit connectivity and full 5G coverage by 2030. These objectives are central to Europe’s broader goals on competitiveness, innovation, and technological sovereignty. As the European Commission prepares the review of the DDPP, there is a timely opportunity to assess whether the current policy framework is sufficient to deliver on these objectives. 

At the same time, institutional discussions on the Digital Networks Act (DNA) are advancing, with the proposal expected to reshape the EU connectivity framework. The DNA should be a key legislative instrument to address investment incentives, regulatory simplification, and market fragmentation – core issues that will determine whether the Digital Decade targets can be achieved.  

Europe’s ability to achieve its Digital Decade ambitions will depend on closing a persistent gap between the connectivity investment required and what current market conditions deliver. While mobile operators have invested heavily over the past decade, Europe continues to lag behind other advanced regions in key indicators such as 5G performance, standalone deployment and network scale. 

To explore this challenge, the GSMA has prepared a new report, Mobile investment needs in Europe, which provides evidence‑based insights into Europe’s connectivity investment outlook.  

Join us on 6 May as we launch the report and bring together policymakers, industry leaders and experts to discuss how regulatory and market frameworks can better support sustainable investment in advanced mobile networks, at a critical moment for Europe’s digital policy agenda. 

Programme:

16.00-16.30 | Welcome coffee
16.30-16.35 | Welcome words by Laszlo Toth, Head of Europe & CIS, GSMA
16.35-17.00 | Launch of the “Mobile investment needs in Europe” report: Key Findings by Pau Castells, Head of Economic Analysis, GSMA Intelligence
17.00-17.40 | Stakeholders’ reactions “Digital Decade 2030: Ambition, Reality and the Investment Gap”:

• Kamila Kloc, Director Digital Decade and Connectivity, DG CONNECT, European Commission
• Michel van Bellinghen, BEREC Vice-Chair (BIPT, Belgium)
• Jakob Greiner, Chair of the GSMA Policy Group Europe and VP of European Affairs, Deutsche Telekom

17.40-19.00 | Networking reception