About: Telecoms regulations
MEPs want to lower prices for international phone calls
MEPs want to put a price cap on calls and text messages from one EU country to another, arguing those rates are outrageously high for many consumers.
Member states reject Commission plan for 25-year spectrum licences
EU member states have rejected a European Commission proposal to extend licences for wireless radio spectrum to last at least 25 years—one of the cornerstones of the EU executive's new attempt to overhaul telecoms law.
Member states ask for new EU data retention rules
Several EU member states want to include new rules allowing for data retention in a draft privacy bill.
Rural areas have bad internet access in most member states
Many rural parts of the EU have poor or no broadband internet, even as lawmakers in Brussels discuss new rules to speed up connectivity.
MEPs and ministers hit back on EU plan for longer spectrum licenses
MEPs and national ministers are stripping down an EU proposal to change how wireless radio spectrum is sold to telecoms companies.
MEPs to give telecoms regulators new muscle to police big firms
MEPs in charge of a sweeping new telecoms reform want to give national watchdogs new powers to control operators in countries where there is not enough competition.
EU telecoms watchdog: ‘We are independent and we bother powerful people’
Sébastien Soriano spoke to EURACTIV about what Yoda can teach us about EU telecoms law, accusations that he is lobbying to change draft rules, net neutrality and the likely new Digital Commissioner Mariya Gabriel.
Digital development plan promotes EU tech laws
A new European Commission aid plan promises to channel more development funds into building internet networks in Africa, in the hope that the bloc's fresh privacy and net neutrality rules could become a template for other countries.
Member states want to change investment rules in telecoms overhaul
EU countries have changed measures on network investment in a major telecoms bill and are kicking negotiations into the second half of this year.
Tech industry relieved there will be new digital Commissioner after lengthy gap
The tech industry is relieved that Bulgaria's nominee for Commissioner will oversee digital policies, filling a gap left open for four months after Günther Oettinger transferred to the budget post.
Thirteen member states double down on opposition to EU spectrum rules
A group of thirteen EU member states have doubled down on a pushback by national governments against the European Commission's proposed changes to radio spectrum policy, arguing it will sweep away their powers to auction off spectrum to telecoms operators.
EU to propose new rules targeting encrypted apps in June
The European Commission will propose new measures in June to make it easier for police to access data on internet messaging apps like WhatsApp, EU Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová said yesterday (28 March), heeding calls from national interior ministers.
Dreaming big can help reform gigabit society
Europe’s digital transformation will connect previously-isolated rural communities and create jobs in multiple sectors, as well as improving individual wellbeing through eHealth solutions and encouraging SMEs to flourish, writes Pierre Louette.
Top telecoms regulator takes aim at Commission plan for cybersecurity labels
The top EU telecoms regulator criticised the European Commission's plans to introduce this spring a labelling scheme to rank the cybersecurity of internet-connected devices, arguing it would only reinforce big tech companies' dominance.
‘Goodbye roaming’: EU clears final hurdle to end mobile charges abroad
The European Union clinched a preliminary deal early on Wednesday (31 January) to cap wholesale charges telecom operators pay each other when their customers use their mobile phones abroad, paving the way for the abolition of roaming fees in June.
Ansip: Abolishing mobile roaming charges tests the EU’s credibility
The European Union's digital chief Andrus Ansip said that failure to solve the last remaining barrier to abolishing mobile roaming charges across the bloc in June would lead people to question its ability to deliver on promises.
Chinese messaging app WeChat courts European business for ad sales and e-commerce
Messaging and e-commerce app WeChat is courting European businesses to advertise and sell to its more than 700 million users in China.
Telecoms firms and internet services like WhatsApp face tougher new privacy rules
Telecoms providers will face fines of up to €20 million or 4% of global turnover if they're caught breaking new EU privacy rules that will also hit firms processing vast amounts of machine data in the internet of things.
EU strikes tentative deal on 700 MHz band for mobile internet
The Slovak Presidency, which made bringing “deliverables” to EU citizens one of its priorities, reached an informal agreement with the European Parliament on the coordinated use of a key frequency band that will allow the introduction of 5G as of 2020.
Companies face new data access rules under controversial Commission plans
Car manufacturers and other firms that increasingly rely on consumer data to make money could be subject to new EU rules that would force them to share that data with other firms, according to a leaked draft of the plans obtained by EURACTIV.com.
Fibre-powered value to European consumers
Overall spending on telecommunications is a fraction of consumer spending.
Ministers agree on ‘sustainably’ ending roaming charges
The Council agreed on a solution to end roaming fees in 2017, while lessening the impact on mobile operators. But consumer organisations warned against operators hiking domestic prices as compensation.
Commission wants manufacturers to build more internet-connected cars
The European Commission wants car companies to make sure new models have a slew of digital technologies that can cut fuel use and be safer on roads, as part of an EU strategy on internet-connect vehicles published today (30 November).
Telecoms regulators fight back against Commission plan for new EU agency
A fresh fight is brewing over the European Commission's plans to turn a group of national telecoms regulators into a full-blown EU agency, with several top watchdogs saying the move will compromise their independence and give Brussels too much power.