Has there ever been a better time for European operators to lobby for a better deal – and a fairer share? Maybe not – just on the grounds that new global techno-economics make regional telecoms infrastructure critical and strategic, and arguably Europe’s best chance to assert some kind of sovereign control in the middle of the grand east-west AI power-play. As such, and as the Digital Networks Act goes through EU legislation, the GSMA has published a report to say that European telecoms is in dire straits, and needs an urgent leg-up from regulators.

Basically, it wants easier consolidation, cheaper spectrum, and better regulatory symmetry with US ‘big tech’. And it wants everyone to know that it’s not its fault – that European telcos are not making enough money to invest in critical infrastructure to sell digital change, and to make Europe’s economic heartlands hum with AI and whatever other tech is supposed to change the world. That’s the message, anyway – effectively. The GSMA reckons European operators need to invest almost half a trillion euros (€475 billion) over the next decade to upgrade their networks.

The 5G picture is not pretty – 5G SA is available to just two percent of European citizens, versus 80 percent in China and almost 50 percent in India. This is because European operators aren’t making enough money to justify investing back into infrastructure. It is also – whisper it – because the enterprise business case doesn’t stack up yet. Mobile internet usage has increased every year since 2018 by an average of 27 percent; operator revenues have fallen by three per cent per year. ‘Cap-ex per connection’ is €35 in Europe, versus €70 for global “connectivity leaders”.

The bloc “remains unable to keep pace and compete”, says the GSMA. The only answer is regulatory reform – to fix all the things that have hobbled European telcos through the whole 5G story, and longer. Which means looser competition rules, cheaper spectrum, and another look at net-neutrality. The EU must get past its default regulatory-political position that consolidation raises prices and hurts competition, and that spectrum licensing is a money-spinning exercise to let private commerce run wild in the airwaves. That’s the idea.

Because European governments need telcos to deliver, suddenly – new techno-economics and geopolitics have conspired to make performant sovereign digital infrastructure the name of the game. So ease up, says the GSMA – so telcos can cough up and catch up. Mobile networks are like a ready-made national infrastructure platform, it implies, which are directly tied to AI competitiveness. Europe will be even more dependent on the US and China, otherwise – and no one in Europe wants that right now.

But the tone is also defensive, rather admitting that 5G has failed, especially with enterprises. To a degree, it is asking the EU to roll the dice on a dicey 5G business case – to lower the regulatory burden just so operators can prove it. Of course, deregulation might not change very much, either; the industry’s problem might be structural: connectivity is commoditized, and the value is elsewhere. So regulators might well ask: is regulation suppressing investment, or is telecoms just a low-margin utility business? This sovereignty card might be the last one for telcos.

James Blackman
Executive Editor
RCR Wireless News

RCR Top Stories

EU 5G shortfall: The GSMA is lobbying the EU for sweeping regulatory reform in as telcos face a €475 billion investment gap to catch up with rivals in other regions – and to deliver the sovereign infrastructure for Europe to compete in AI.

TIM tower strategy: TIM chief officer Pietro Labriola has outlined the operator’s evolving tower strategy, highlighting RAN sharing, new tower partnerships, and infrastructure flexibility aimed at supporting lower-cost 5G expansion in Italy.

Oz AI pipeline: Australia’s data center pipeline experienced a sharp increase in 2025 as AI demand accelerated, although developers continue facing growing constraints around power, grid access, and water availability in key markets.

New AI TechTalk: Chetan Sharma describes the ‘Quantumverse’ and the synchronous S-curves of 5G, 6G, AI, robotics, and quantum computing that are creating emergent behaviors not yet instrumented in ecosystems.

EU telco models: Vodafone’s sovereign-cloud deal with AWS and BT’s brand refresh and UEFA deal, plus lots else, shows how European telcos are repositioning as trusted intermediaries for AI, cloud, cybersecurity, and critical infrastructure.

View More News

In partnership with

Powering Sovereign AI at Scale
AI is central to telecom and national infrastructure, but must be secure, compliant and sovereign. Read this white paper to see how AI Factories enable trusted scale and new revenue.

Beyond the Headlines

EU slows AI regs: Europe is accelerating sovereign AI infrastructure to reduce reliance on US hyperscalers, while the EU delays parts of its AI Act to balance regulation with competitiveness. Tensions everywhere…

Nvidia fiber deal: A reminder, if needed, that the AI boom is no longer just about chips and models, but about the network plumbing that lets it all work – as Nvidia invests $500 million, rising potentially to $3.2 billion, to a stake in Corning.

Lumen lights way: Lumen’s $475m deal for Alkira signals a shift from carrier to platform operator, aiming to unify east-west cloud-to-cloud and north-south enterprise traffic under a single control plane. Same as every operator.

Vodafone buy-out: Big news in UK telecoms last week, among a bunch of other interesting stuff – because Vodafone has agreed to buy CK Hutchison out of its VodafoneThree joint-venture for £4.3 billion.

Capex turning point: After several years of declining capital intensity, telecom operators may be approaching a turning point. Omdia says the industry has reached the bottom of the capex crunch, with a new AI and 5G-A pick-up ahead.

What We’re Reading

Sony-TSMC JV: Sony and TSMC have signed a deal to jointly develop next-gen image sensors, combining Sony’s design expertise with TSMC manufacturing capabilities through a Japan-based venture targeting AI, automotive, robotics.

Quantum leap: Telefónica and the Polytechnic University of Madrid have a joint research unit focused on quantum tech, strengthening collaboration in quantum comms, computing, and cybersecurity.

Maritime Rakuten: Rakuten Symphony has signed a deal with the American Bureau of Shipping to strengthen maritime cybersecurity and digital transformation. They will combine cybersecurity standards and training expertise.

Inseego recruit: Inseego has appointed Koroush Saraf as chief product officer to lead product strategy and integration following its Nokia FWA acquisition. Saraf brings 20 years of networking, cybersecurity, 5G, and edge AI leadership.

Residential DCs: US energy tech company SPAN has a new data center platform that uses underutilized residential and commercial power capacity to accelerate AI compute deployment. Launch partners include Nvidia.

Events

Virtual Program

Test & Measurement Forum, May 19
Join the annual Test & Measurement Forum where industry leaders, innovators, and engineers come together to tackle the most pressing test and measurement challenges in telco today. Register now

Telco AI Forum, June 16th
Telco AI Forum brings together operators, vendors, hyperscalers, and academia to explore how the evolution of the industry and partnership ecosystems is laying the foundations for AI-native 6G networks and unlocking ROI. Register now

Quantum Safe Networks Forum, July 14th
Quantum Safe Networks Forum brings together telecom operators, cybersecurity experts, and industry analysts to explore how to build resilient, future-ready infrastructure in the face of quantum disruption. Register now

CCA’s 2026 Mobility & Connectivity Show
Join industry stakeholders and innovative leaders in the communications service provider community this spring at CCA’s 2026 Mobility & Connectivity Show, April 14-16 in Louisville, KY. Register now

RCR Roundtables AI Infrastructure, October 21st, Dallas, Texas
Join 50 senior data center, energy and AI leaders at the Ritz-Carlton Dallas on October 21 for invitation-only roundtables on powering and scaling AI. Request your invitation