On March 1, 2018, the European Commission, the EU Parliament, and the EU Council reached a preliminary agreement on parts of the forthcoming European Electronic Communications Code, related to spectrum policy. The agreement includes the availability of spectrum for 5G in the EU by 2020; a 20-year period of ‘investment predictability’ for spectrum licences; and enhanced coordination and peer review of planned radio spectrum assignment procedures.
The EU's Electronic Communications Code is still a long way away from getting approved
With the trialogue negotiations between the Commission, Council and Parliament now underway, an approved final text should in theory be imminent. However, the Council and the Parliament still have significant differences of opinion given their respective positions, and must still take on board the concerns of the industry, which is generally skeptical about the likely success of the code in creating a sensible framework for investment.
The end of roaming in the EU
On June 15, 2017 after a decade of imposed price cuts, the premium for using your phone while travelling in the EU is set to disappear for good. While the initial intervention was a bitterly controversial one at the time, it was eventually embraced by operators, many of which ended up going beyond what was required.
