The executive chairman of Telefónica, Marc Murtra, emphasized on Monday in Barcelona, during his participation in the opening session of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the need for Europe to allow consolidation in the European telecommunications sector so that operators can gain size and strengthen their technological potential.
“We must be aware that the excessive fragmentation of European TMTs, excessive regulation, and insufficient profitability in the sector have hindered Europe, which has fallen behind technologically,” he lamented. “It is time to allow large European telecommunications companies to consolidate and grow to create technological capacity (…) This step can reinforce European strategic autonomy, unlock productivity, and improve people’s lives,” Murtra highlighted.
“The European Commission, European member states, regulators, and others must adapt their regulations and objectives to allow for technological and telecommunications consolidation.” Otherwise, he warned, “Europe’s position in the world will continue to diminish and it will lack the capacity to decide its future autonomously.
