Planning and Future Trends

The Planning and Future Trends Working Group (PFT WG) plays the crucial role of looking at potential trends and issues emerging in electronic communications relevant to the Body of European Regulator for Electronic Communication’s (BEREC’s) mandate. The PFT WG is also involved in the procedure of drafting the BEREC Work Programme. The international and inter-institutional cooperation of BEREC is also part of this group’s day-to-day work.

Working Group Co-chairs

María Ruiz Merida

CNMC, Spain

Katia Marcantonio

AGCOM, Italy

Work in 2025

In 2025, the PFT WG will continue working on related topics, based on the BEREC Work Programme 2025.

BEREC Strategies 2026-2030: Mid-term strategy, International and Institutional

The last strategy covers the period 2021 – 2025. Complementing the overarching strategies, in 2021, BEREC published a BEREC Medium-Term Strategy for relations with other institutions (2022-2025) and a BEREC Medium-Term Strategy for International Cooperation (2022-2025).

In 2025, BEREC will review the three strategies to set its objectives for the period 2026-2030 in view of the latest and expected relevant market, technological and regulatory developments for the next five years. For the first time, the strategies will be merged into a single document. The review of BEREC’s strategies will consider the Action Plan 2030, contributing to a regulatory environment in Europe 2030, as building blocks to shape the regulatory activities in the coming years.

The recent European elections and the establishment of a new Commission will bring new priorities for the European Union (EU), including electronic communications, digital services, international cooperation, and relations with third countries. The review of BEREC’s strategies will consider the upcoming European objectives and priorities to ensure constructive cooperation among the EU institutions.

The European Commission (EC) assessment of BEREC’s performance in accordance with article 48 of the BEREC Regulation as well as BEREC’s own evaluation, which was completed under the 2023 Work Programme, will be most valuable inputs to define BEREC’s path and identify possible areas for improvement and adjustments to be considered in the strategies.

By December 2025, the EC must review the functioning of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code – the EECC. BEREC’s strategies would set in this context the main lines of the regulator’s views regarding how the EU regulatory framework may evolve and be updated for the benefit of the EU citizens.

Developing the BEREC Work Programme 2026

BEREC is required to adopt an outline of the subsequent year’s annual work programme by 31 January each year. The outline will serve as the first input for the draft Work Programme 2026, for which a call for input will be started in the first quarter of 2025. After preparing the final draft Work Programme, a public consultation will follow.

BEREC Report on Virtual Worlds and Web 4.0

Virtual worlds may have a significant economic and social impact by transforming the way online content and applications are accessed by means of immersive experiences. Virtual worlds are part of a broader technological change: the transition towards Web 4.0.

This deliverable would develop BEREC’s high-level position on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and virtual worlds that was provided as input to the two calls for contributions on competition in generative AI and Virtual Worlds opened on 9 January 2024 by the European Commission. It would consider, among other issues, the underlying technologies supporting the virtual worlds and Web 4.0, the interdependences among the different technologies, investments required, related environmental issues, and potential competition and openness/standardization bottlenecks for their development as well as the impact on end users’ rights and inclusiveness.

Why is this important?

The PFT Working Group support National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) gaining a broader and forward-looking perspective on very diverse areas in the digital ecosystem. Although the issues addressed by the group are not normally linked to an immediate regulatory intervention, understanding the general trends of a sector such as electronic communications, that features constant change, is key for the design and the impact evaluation of NRAs regulatory activities. The PFT WG may additionally help identifying upcoming new bottlenecks and regulatory needs.