European Mobile Leaders and European Commission in High Level Broadband Wireless Meeting
Brussels,
21st May 2002 - The European mobile market
is set to receive a boost following a meeting between the
European Commission and GSM Europe, the regional interest
group of the GSM Association (GSMA).
The meeting took the form of a high level roundtable discussion
between the European Commission and CEOs and senior directors
from Europe's leading mobile operators.
Held today in Brussels, the roundtable was attended by 18
of Europe's leading mobile network operators. Discussions
focused on crucial industry issues such as infrastructure
sharing, spectrum management, licence conditions, network
rollout, M-Commerce, new services and applications, and also
on the ways in which the Commission can help support the industry
to launch future 3G networks and services.
Importantly, the meeting also addressed key aspects of the
EU's eEurope Action Plan which recognises that 3G communications
is essential in eEurope, in order to create a real and workable
broadband information society with innovative services available
for anyone, anywhere, anytime! This vision is also shared
by Europe's mobile industry.
Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, responsible for Enterprise and
Information Society stated: "I continue to believe that
3G is an essential building block of the broadband wireless
Information Society and that its success is essential to achieve
the Commission policy objectives of an Information Society
for all. A significant step in this direction was taken by
the recent adoption of a lighter new regulatory regime. I
welcome the roundtable initiative with GSM Europe and today's
discussions, which have provided a solid basis for a successful
launch of 3G services in the very near future."
He adds, "The mobile industry is rightly seen as a European
success story. The challenge for us all - the Commission,
Regulators, Governments and the wireless industry - is to
ensure its continued development and leadership. It is particularly
important to fully realise the benefits of the new communications
regulatory package. This package has been designed to reduce
red tape, it offers technology-neutrality, is flexible and
will pave the way for a more level playing field for telecoms
in Europe. In addition, other actions - such as pilots and
R&D have been launched with the intention to stimulate
the development of new services, applications and content."
GSM Association CEO, Rob Conway, comments: "Against a
backdrop of investor pressure and increasing regulatory constraints,
the operator community has continued to rise to commercial
and operational challenges, developing networks and innovative
services to benefit and support Europe's economic and social
communities."
"It is vital, however, that telecoms policy and the new
regulatory framework recognises and addresses these challenges,
encouraging and promoting investment and competition. We are
delighted to be working with the Commission today to examine
these issues and to provide essential feedback that will help
shape the future of European wireless communications and keep
it at the forefront of the global mobile market."
GSM Europe believes that there are several legislative areas
that are critical to the continued growth, evolution and roll-out
of Europe's mobile services. The wireless industry's leaders
used today's roundtable to propose a series of key recommendations
to the European Commission. These included, among others:
That the Commission and regulators should recognise the adverse
risk of inappropriate regulation and its over-spill on to
new and innovative services, including 3G;
That the Commission, with respect to environment, health and
planning issues, should urgently consult with Member States
and industry on the actions to support the development of
3G services - as set out in the Commission's 3G communication
(March 2001). It should address these issues at the forthcoming
Seville Council (June 2002);
That the Commission should, with respect to the take up of
mobile commerce, ensure that mobile operators can offer innovative
m-commerce services for their subscribers without being hindered
by inappropriate financial regulation, that does not take
into account the issues specific to the mobile market, such
as pre pay.
** Download the Recomendations
document (19kb PDF)
About GSM Europe
GSM Europe is the European interest group of the GSM Association,
the premier global body behind the world's leading wireless
communications standard. GSM Europe represents around 123 operators
in 50 countries/areas in Europe serving around 346 million subscribers.
The GSM Association is responsible for the development, deployment
and evolution of the GSM standard for digital wireless communications
and for the promotion of the GSM platform.
About the GSM Association
The GSM Association is the world's leading wireless industry
representative body, consisting of more than 630 second and
third generation wireless network operators and key manufacturers
and suppliers to the wireless industry. The Association's members
provide digital wireless services to more than 684 million customers
(end April 2002). The GSM family of wireless communications
platforms account for approximately 71 percent of the total
digital wireless market today. The GSM Association is a unique
organisation, with a truly global reach, offering a full range
of business and technical services to its members. Its vision
is of a seamless, limitless, world of wireless communications.
About GSM - the Wireless Evolution
The GSM platform is a hugely successful wireless communications
platform and an unprecedented story of global achievement. In
less than ten years since the first second generation GSM network
was commercially launched, it has become the world's leading
and fastest growing mobile platform spanning more than 178 countries.
The GSM family of wireless communication platforms is living,
growing and evolving and already offers an expanded and feature-rich
family of voice and data enabling services. The GSM family consists
of today's GSM, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced
Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) and third generation GSM
services (3GSM). Together the GSM family provides a flexible
platform and an evolutionary path that enables network operators
to offer a potentially limitless range of services, meeting
the ever-growing needs of their customers worldwide. GSM is
The Wireless Evolution.
GSM is a registered trademark, registered and owned by the GSM
Association.
For more information, please contact:
Mark Smith
Director of Communications
Tel: +44 207 518 0533
Fax: +44 207 518 0531
E-Mail: msmith@gsm.org
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