The European Commission has given its clearest signal yet that it intends to make a significant intervention in how Internet connectivity is funded in the bloc in the coming years.
In a keynote speech on stage this morning at mobile industry association the GSMA’s annual trade show, Mobile World Congress (MWC), Thierry Breton, the European Union’s internal market commissioner, warned current gen networks aren’t up to the task of the “massive transformation” just starting, driven by increasingly immersive technologies such as virtual worlds and developments in AI powering nascent tech like connected cars and smart cities — that rely on high speed and bandwidth and low latency but massive interconnectivity to deliver on their disruptive promise.
“We will need to find a financing model for the huge investments needed that respects and preserves the fundamental elements of our European acquis,” he told delegates up early on Day 1 of the annual telco conference in Barcel...
