Future prospects. The great opportunity of the Digital Single Market

The European Commission has been working on the Digital Single Market Strategy since 2015. The objective is to ensure that Europe’s economy, industry and society take full advantage of the new digital era, so that citizens can shop online across borders and companies can sell online across the EU. Within the framework of this strategy, Cellnex plays a very important role in achieving its objectives through the deployment of new locations for telecommunications in rural and urban environments, as well as DAS nodes, which are located at points of high demand concentration broadband mobile communications.

One of the objectives of this strategy is to prepare mobile networks for the arrival of 5G so that at least one city in each member state of the EU can offer 5G services by 2020, something for which Cellnex is working with the objective of positioning itself as a leader in the market.

Furthermore, at the end of 2018 came into force the new European Code of Electronic Communications, the regulatory framework for electronic communications for the next decade, including the deployment of 5G networks. The main objective of the Code is to encourage investment and innovation in high capacity networks and services throughout the European Union, including rural and remote areas. Among other measures, the Code recognizes the figure of the independent infrastructure operator endowing it with a specific “light” regulation while proposing measures to promote and accelerate the deployment of the 5G network throughout the territory, providing facilities for the physical deployment of the Small Cells and the densification of the network. On the other hand, it also proposes a better management of the radioelectric spectrum, an improvement in the protection of data from smart phone users, a reduction in the price of European calls.