Feb 26 (Reuters) – Deutsche Telekom chief executive Timotheus Hoettges expressed dissatisfaction with how the European Union is handling the reform of telecommunication sector rules and called for more deregulation.
“We’re seeing more and more red tape, more requirements,” he said during a press conference after the publication of the company’s fourth-quarter results.
Following several months of pressure from European telecom companies, the European Commission unveiled in January a major revamp of the sector rules known as the Digital Networks Act.
The proposal would allow operators to use radio spectrum for an unlimited duration, a move which would increase predictability and favour investments, the Commission said.
However, it did not meet the European operators’ call for U.S. tech giants such as Google, Netflix and Meta to pay a network fee in light of their massive traffic, opting for a voluntary cooperation mechanism.
(Reporting by Emanuele Berro and Danny Callaghan, Editing by Friederike Heine)
