Alongside further pushback against an overhaul of EU telecoms regulation, there were calls for the effective enforcement of cybersecurity frameworks amid geopolitical uncertainty
The Minister underlined that resilience will be a key priority for his department
On 18 June 2025, in Dublin, ComReg hosted its semi-annual conference, bringing together stakeholders to discuss the evolving telecoms landscape in Europe and the regulatory framework that will govern it for the years ahead. The conference, entitled “Securing the Digital Future”, was opened by Patrick O’Donovan (Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Irish Government) who stated that his department was already planning for the country’s presidency of the Council of the EU in H2 2026 and that he sees alignment with his counterparts (e.g. those in the Danish Government, which will assume the presidency on 1 July) on the need for resilient and safe telecoms networks across Europe. However, O’Donovan also repeatedly referenced the storms that hit Ireland at the start of 2025, which exposed vulnerabilities in communications infrastructure as well as the cross-sector efforts that will be needed to ensure the country is better prepared in future. The Minister stated that there are “encyclopedias of lessons to learn” from the impacts of these weather events, including some consumers being left without connectivity for 19 weeks, and made clear that resilience will be one of his team’s key priorities. O’Donovan was markedly more positive on Ireland’s National Broadband Plan (NBP), stating that it was a lifeline during the pandemic and far from the waste of money that some senior civil servants thought it might be when first proposed. He added that the NBP also provided a rare example of a major infrastructure project being delivered both on time and on budget.
Amid DNA discussions, there were familiar calls from ComReg not to rip up the current rulebook entirely
Reflecting on the Letta and Draghi reports and with an eye towards the Digital Networks Act (DNA), the opening panel focused on the seemingly conflated issues of regulation and consolidation. Peter Stuckmann (Head of Unit, DG CONNECT) opened the conversation by characterising the problems facing Europe as being derived from market fragmentation, inconsistencies in regulatory approaches and administrative burdens across Member States. Claiming the region is behind on fibre and 5GSA deployments, he said that the DNA needs to replace the EECC with a framework that is agile and simplified and developed with a “strong single market lens”. As at other recent industry events, Robert Mourik (Commissioner, ComReg and Chair, BEREC) agreed that simplification is important but warned against overhauling a regulatory framework that has worked for 20+ years, stating that many of the fundamentals still hold true. In Mourik’s view, most of the problems raised by Letta and Draghi stem less from regulation and more from competition policy. To that end, Christian Salbaing (Deputy Chairman, CK Hutchison Europe) was keen to talk up the Three/Vodafone merger in the UK as an example of where a dose of consolidation could address “dysfunctional” markets. However, he hastened to dispel the notion that this transaction was approved solely on the basis of behavioural remedies, arguing that the sale of spectrum to Virgin Media O2 alongside an updated network sharing terms pointed to a structural commitment.
Panellists were unconcerned by the rollout of high-quality telecoms networks, but urged action to support demand
Echoing Mourik, there was limited appetite for major regulatory reform from across the panel, with Cláudio Teixeira (Senior Legal Officer, BEUC) stating that the EC’s latest State of the Digital Decade report actually paints a positive picture of the region. He argued that after two years of debate on the DNA, there was no clarity nor consensus on what the problem facing Europe is and what the right solution(s) should be, adding that the proposed removal of ex-ante regulation would only benefit incumbents and harm end users. Richard Feasey (Senior Advisor, CERRE) stated that he didn’t share in the prevailing “crisis narrative”, perhaps with the exception of Germany, which he believed was trailing behind its peers due to Deutsche Telekom’s reallocation of capex to the US. For him, the issue now for Europe is about the adoption of digital networks and technologies rather than coverage, and he asked whether the DNA could help promote this through improved copper retirement rules and a revamped universal service obligation (USO). Feasey also advocated changes to spectrum policy, which he referred to as "unfinished business” – and something Stuckmann indicated would find a home in the EC’s forthcoming proposals. While Teixeira was sceptical of consolidation (supporting the AdC’s decision to block Nowo/Vodafone in Portugal), Feasey took a more balanced position, cautioning against a wave of “ill-judged M&A activity” that can be value destructive while being comfortable with markets’ natural attrition, inequality and restructuring. However, both Feasey and Salbaing were doubtful about the benefits of cross-border mergers (as discussed in the White Paper), considering telecoms an intrinsically national-level model.
With the rise of increasingly capable cyber criminals, speakers were clear that NIS2 and other resilience measures must be enforced effectively
The second panel centred around cybersecurity and resilience, issues that are only growing in importance as geopolitical uncertainties continue to intensify. Both Saâd Kadhi (Director, CERT-EU) and Dr Melanie Garson (Associate Professor, UCL) stressed the importance of international collaboration and information sharing in defending against rising cyber threats. Garson highlighted just how crucial digital infrastructure is to communications, citing how the Russia-Ukraine war was sparked by an attack on satellite systems. She also went on to explain how subsea cables are an Achilles’ heel for most countries, with damage to them potentially significantly disrupting nationwide and global communications. Kadhi similarly warned that telecoms networks, with their patchwork of aging legacy infrastructures, could be described as “Swiss cheese” given their range of vulnerabilities. Garrett Blaney (Chairperson, ComReg) and Yohann Bénard (EU Digital Policy Director, Amazon) went on to discuss the existing European security framework. Bénard was critical of the regulatory burden that firms face in the digital ecosystem and also argued that the EU’s NIS2 Directive lacked sufficient provisions for supporting cross-sector cooperation, suggesting that a broad industrial group which discusses cybersecurity and resilience issues be set up, potentially coordinated by ENISA. Blaney explained that the Directive needs to be quickly and efficiently transposed, urging businesses to begin their preparations as soon as possible. Alongside these topics, Blaney and Evangelos Kantas (Cybersecurity Expert, ENISA) emphasised the importance of Ireland’s role in the EU’s critical digital infrastructure, strengthening the case for ComReg to efficiently enforce the NIS2 Directive. Blaney agreed, explaining that around 30% of all EU data flows through Ireland, meaning that vulnerabilities there could have severe consequences for the rest of the bloc, again emphasising the importance of ComReg’s new responsibilities in cyber as a part of the NIS2 Directive.
