{"id":5775,"date":"2014-04-03T11:29:33","date_gmt":"2014-04-03T11:29:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/?p=5775"},"modified":"2015-05-13T10:16:18","modified_gmt":"2015-05-13T10:16:18","slug":"more-comprehensive-connected-continent-package","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/more-comprehensive-connected-continent-package\/","title":{"rendered":"MORE COMPREHENSIVE &#8220;CONNECTED  CONTINENT&#8221; PACKAGE REQUIRED TO ADDRESS CURRENT ECONOMIC CHALLENGES, SAYS GSMA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"center\"><em>Amendments to the European Commission&rsquo;s  Proposals on the Open Internet Would Reduce Consumer Choice and Weaken Europe&rsquo;s  Competitiveness <\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Brussels:<\/strong> The  GSMA recognises the efforts of Rapporteur Pilar del Castillo to develop a constructive  response to the Commission&rsquo;s Connected Continent proposals but believes that  the overall package fails to address the key challenge of stimulating growth  and investment. Europe&rsquo;s telecoms operators are facing decreasing revenues and  reduced market values compared with operators in the U.S. and Asia, as well as players  across the broader mobile ecosystem. This is impairing their ability to invest  in the infrastructure required to put Europe back on the path to growth and  jobs and to restore its global competitiveness. The GSMA shares the European  Commission&rsquo;s view that a competitive telecommunications single market can help  solutions-and-impact\/connectivity-for-good\/public-policy\/regulatory-environment\/mobile-energy-efficiencyt this challenge, but a more thorough and comprehensive approach is required  to support this goal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Open  Internet<\/strong><br \/>\n  The European Parliament  voted today on changes to the Open Internet provisions that would further compromise  investment and hinder innovation, limiting the availability of  customised services differentiated on the basis of quality and price, and  introducing additional restrictions on essential traffic management. <br \/>\n  &ldquo;For mobile  to fulfil this potential, network operators must be able to develop services  that solutions-and-impact\/connectivity-for-good\/public-policy\/regulatory-environment\/mobile-energy-efficiencyt the needs of consumers and charge different prices for differentiated  products. This is also a key driver for the high network investment needed to  solutions-and-impact\/connectivity-for-good\/public-policy\/regulatory-environment\/mobile-energy-efficiencyt Europe&rsquo;s connectivity challenge and underpin growth,&rdquo; said Anne Bouverot,  Director General, GSMA.<\/p>\n<p> <strong>Spectrum  Policy<\/strong><br \/>\n  The  Parliament&rsquo;s supportive stance on the European Commission&rsquo;s spectrum policy  proposals, and its call for longer licence terms, is welcomed by the GSMA. The  growth of Internet access over mobile broadband is dramatically increasing demand  for spectrum and, therefore, securing access to long-term, harmonised, spectrum  is critical. The Connected Continent&rsquo;s push to harmonise and coordinate aspects  of spectrum policy can provide more certainty, as operators plan medium to  long-term network deployments.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Europe&rsquo;s  fragmented and inconsistent approach to spectrum policy continues to constrain investment  and growth. A clear long-term progressive spectrum strategy is essential to  rejuvenate mobile in Europe,&rdquo; said Bouverot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Further  Reform Urgently Needed<\/strong><br \/>\n  The draft Connected  Continent package includes some positive elements, but on balance it risks  undermining regulatory certainty, clarity and consistency, both for consumers  and businesses. The GSMA urges all parties to quickly start work on a  comprehensive review of the existing regulatory framework for electronic  communications, focusing on the underlying reasons for Europe&rsquo;s lagging  investment. <\/p>\n<p>The GSMA and CEOs of major  European mobile operators recently sent an open letter to Commissioner Neelie  Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission, setting out the key success factors  for achieving an effective EU telecoms single market. The elements critical to  its success are modernised regulation, consolidation for investment, spectrum  for growth, a level playing field for all players and greater trust, take-up  and use of new digital services by EU citizens: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/gsma-and-ceos-mobile-operators\/\">https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/gsma-and-ceos-mobile-operators\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">-ENDS-<\/p>\n<p><strong>About the GSMA<\/strong> <br \/>\n  The GSMA represents the  interests of mobile operators worldwide.&nbsp;Spanning more than 220 countries and territories,  the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world&rsquo;s mobile operators with 250 companies  in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies,  equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in  industry sectors such as financial services, healthcare, media, transport and  utilities. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World  Congress and Mobile Asia Expo. <\/p>\n<p>For more information, please  visit the GSMA corporate website at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\">www.gsma.com<\/a>.  Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Media Contacts<\/strong> <br \/>\n  For the GSMA<br \/>\n  Christian Prior (Brussels)<br \/>\n  +32 (0) 2 894 90 13 <br \/>\n  <a href=\"mailto:CPrior@webershandwick.com\">CPrior@webershandwick.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>GSMA Press  Office <br \/>\n  <a href=\"mailto:pressoffice@gsma.com%20\">pressoffice@gsma.com <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amendments to the European Commission&rsquo;s Proposals on the Open Internet Would Reduce Consumer Choice and Weaken Europe&rsquo;s Competitiveness Brussels: The GSMA recognises the efforts of Rapporteur Pilar del Castillo to develop a constructive response to the Commission&rsquo;s Connected Continent proposals but believes that the overall package fails to address the key challenge of stimulating growth [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":5777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"algolia_discover_type":[6627],"class_list":["post-5775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release","algolia_discover_type-article"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.4 (Yoast SEO v28.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>MORE COMPREHENSIVE &quot;CONNECTED CONTINENT&quot; PACKAGE REQUIRED TO ADDRESS CURRENT ECONOMIC CHALLENGES, SAYS GSMA - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/more-comprehensive-connected-continent-package\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MORE COMPREHENSIVE &quot;CONNECTED CONTINENT&quot; PACKAGE REQUIRED TO ADDRESS CURRENT ECONOMIC CHALLENGES, SAYS GSMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Amendments to the European Commission&rsquo;s Proposals on the Open Internet Would Reduce Consumer Choice and Weaken Europe&rsquo;s Competitiveness Brussels: The GSMA recognises the efforts of Rapporteur Pilar del Castillo to develop a constructive response to the Commission&rsquo;s Connected Continent proposals but believes that the overall package fails to address the key challenge of stimulating growth [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/more-comprehensive-connected-continent-package\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gsma\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-04-03T11:29:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-05-13T10:16:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2014\/04\/telecoms-inter-650.jpg?fit=650%2C320&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"320\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"webteam\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GSMA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GSMA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"webteam\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"MORE COMPREHENSIVE \"CONNECTED CONTINENT\" PACKAGE REQUIRED TO ADDRESS CURRENT ECONOMIC CHALLENGES, SAYS GSMA - Newsroom","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/more-comprehensive-connected-continent-package\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"MORE COMPREHENSIVE \"CONNECTED CONTINENT\" PACKAGE REQUIRED TO ADDRESS CURRENT ECONOMIC CHALLENGES, SAYS GSMA","og_description":"Amendments to the European Commission&rsquo;s Proposals on the Open Internet Would Reduce Consumer Choice and Weaken Europe&rsquo;s Competitiveness Brussels: The GSMA recognises the efforts of Rapporteur Pilar del Castillo to develop a constructive response to the Commission&rsquo;s Connected Continent proposals but believes that the overall package fails to address the key challenge of stimulating growth [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/more-comprehensive-connected-continent-package\/","og_site_name":"Newsroom","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gsma\/","article_published_time":"2014-04-03T11:29:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-05-13T10:16:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":650,"height":320,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2014\/04\/telecoms-inter-650.jpg?fit=650%2C320&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"webteam","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@GSMA","twitter_site":"@GSMA","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"webteam","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/more-comprehensive-connected-continent-package\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/more-comprehensive-connected-continent-package\/"},"author":{"name":"webteam","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/5f710fedc8509b0c9c60af69f66b28e3"},"headline":"MORE COMPREHENSIVE &#8220;CONNECTED CONTINENT&#8221; 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