Current NN framework is flexible enough for 5G: BEREC Chair at the FT ETNO Summit 2018

On 15 October 2018 in Brussels, the BEREC Chair Johannes Gungl and the Incoming Chair Jeremy Godfrey participated in the FT ETNO Summit 2018 to discuss the next generation future vision and 5G progress.

The BEREC Chair Johannes Gungl took part to the panel session on the “Ministerial interview: Access, fairness and competitiveness”. The panel discussed the move to 5G and fibre, trying to answer questions on the connectivity challenges. It also touched upon the impact of the Net Neutrality regulation on the 5G roll-out.

Mr Gungl explained that BEREC had a clear goal in 2018 – to find out, if there are any hurdles for a swift roll-out of 5G in Europe in the context of the Net Neutrality rules. “According to our findings, there is no evidence for it on table. We haven’t seen any use case so far which wouldn’t be possible under the existing rules. Therefore, we think that the current Net Neutrality framework is flexible enough for 5G,” he confirmed.

At the panel session on “Dialogue: 2020 Vision - The next generation” focusing on challenges and opportunities to be faced after the elections next year as well as new political objectives, pro-privacy initiatives and desired technology prowess, fast technological change and globalization, the Incoming BEREC Chair Mr Godfrey underlined the opportunity for Europe to become a leader in trust, saying that there is a lack of trust in big tech and a lack of trust in non-liberal democracies.

Chaired by the Financial Times (FT), and organised in association with European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association (ETNO), the Summit gathered together leading policymakers, regulators, industry executives and investors from Europe and beyond to discuss and debate progress towards harmonized technology media and telecoms rules, and Europe’s role in an ever more connected world.