BRUSSELS, 12 June 2013 – The European Commission’s Digital Access Scoreboard, published earlier today, confirms that the European telecommunications market needs more investments in state of the art infrastructures to close the gap with the US and Asia.

In the case of Broadband networks, it is clear that improvements have been made with over 54% of European households benefiting from 30Mbps connections or stronger. However, a clear deregulatory agenda is paramount to unlock further investments and ensure that the Commission remains on track to reach its Digital Agenda goals.

ETNO will soon present a study by Boston Consulting Group that shows how, in the absence of a significant shift to a more deregulatory stance, the investments required to reach the Digital Agenda targets will not materialise.

Executive Chair of the European Telecommunications Network operators Association (ETNO), Luigi Gambardella speaking on behalf of ETNO said, "The EU telecoms sector is in urgent need of further investments in new infrastructures but current policy and regulatory conditions need to change if such investments are to materialise. We have to move from a regulatory scenario still based on the principle of market opening to a new system that looks at enabling efficient operators to invest in network and services that can enhance the welfare of European citizens."

Click here to read the European Commission's statement and view the Digital Access Scoreboard.