The European telecommunications operators, including Meo, convened in Brussels today to affirm their commitment to advancing European industrial leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) and security technologies, emphasizing the strategic importance of connectivity for competitiveness.
The operators are gathering at the FT Connect Europe Forum in Brussels.
In a letter made public today, CEOs of companies such as Meo’s Ana Figueiredo, Orange’s Christel Heydemann, and Telefónica’s Marc Murtra, stated their support for European industrial leadership in AI and security technologies, enabled by innovative and robust networks.
Connectivity is described as a strategic asset for Europe’s collective resilience and competitiveness. Drawing on the Draghi report, the implementation of reforms outlined in the Competitiveness Compass, and the expansion of the sector will lay the groundwork for a more prosperous, autonomous, and secure EU, the letter continues.
The operators also express support for expanding European computational capacity, AI, and its democratization.
“We are committed to contributing to Europe’s ambition to develop leadership in AI, control strategic infrastructures, and foster innovative ecosystems,” the letter states, referring to the integral role of networks and connectivity services in Europe’s AI infrastructure. The operators support the Commission’s efforts to boost AI gigafactories under the AI Continent Action Plan.
“We are strengthening Europe’s sovereign computing capacity through building data centers and investing in cloud and edge services that bring data processing closer to users,” the operators note, emphasizing the crucial role of connectivity in data interconnection beyond isolated data centers.
The operators project that data center traffic linked to AI will grow at an annual rate of 50%.
“Fixed and mobile networks are central to delivering present and future AI services to businesses, consumers, and governments, with increasing quality and performance requirements,” the operators highlight.
“We also strive to democratize AI access, already providing broad access to AI solutions to our customers, with many of us including generative AI tools in existing subscriptions or offering smartphones with AI technology,” they exemplify.
Economic growth and modern defense rely on connectivity, requiring increased investment in resilient and innovative gigabit networks as critical levers for a competitive economy that generates new socio-economic opportunities and advanced military capabilities to keep Europeans safe, they argue.
Due to challenging new geopolitical and international trade realities, particularly in the tech sector, there is an urgent need for existing reform, they stress.
European telecommunications operators are well equipped to help build the digital infrastructure that this continent needs, and by urgently implementing the recommendations on technology and telecommunications described in the Draghi Competitiveness Report, a more resilient and competitive Union can be built.
They reiterate that the new Digital Networks Act should be ambitious and indicate a clear shift to spur investment.
The signatories also include Telenor CEO and President Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer, Deutsche Telekom’s CEO Europe Dominique Leroy, KPN CEO Joost Farwerck, TIM CEO Pietro Labriola, and A1 Telekom Austria Group’s Deputy CEO Thomas Arnoldner.
