Avner Motaev writes about the EU’s ‘next gen’ telecoms strategy and opinions about it.
An article published by Telecoms.com has pointedly criticised the EU’s approach towards ‘next gen’ telecommunications, making accusations of inactivity on the part of senior EU figures who have recently made announcement about the region’s move towards a ‘digitised’ economy.
I’ve decided to look into the news and draw my own conclusion.
Flurry of activity
The article’s author states that Günther Oettinger, EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, has made an announcement about moves towards “Digitising European Industry”.
Oettinger’s announcement was made after a meeting between him and several industry leaders, including senior figures from Atos, Siemens and IBM. The meeting resulted in Oettinger stating that:
“…the message I received today is very clear: there is an urgent need for European industry, Member States and European Commission to act together in order to benefit fully from the opportunities offered by digital technologies in a European digital single market.”
This comment implies that there has been progress regarding the development of a plan for ‘digitising’ Europe’s economy.
However, the author of the aforementioned article in Telecoms.com doesn’t seem convinced.
He summarily states that:
“The ultimate impression is of a flurry of meetings, statements of intention and future diary dates set but little of material consequence actually achieved. Perhaps they’ll cover that at the next meeting.”
There is clearly an air of discontent in the statement made, implying that the author has limited faith in Mr Oettinger’s leadership.
I’ve written previously about the issues facing the EU in regards to telecommunications and come to the conclusion that differences within the organisation (regarding competition, for example) have hindered progress.
In conclusion, it’s clear that some experts are growing cynical with the EU in regards to telecoms strategies – this must be addressed.
Avner Motaev
Avner Motaev is the director of Mobile2Business, a provider of telecommunications solutions to businesses in Austria. Mobile2Business is an official business partner of T-Mobile.