News
Speed is of the essence when it comes to making Digital Single Market proposals a reality, DSM vice president says.
The European Commission will present a new package of measures under its Digital Single Market (DSM) programme in the coming weeks, it emerged late last week.
Andrus Ansip, vice president for the digital single market, published a blog post on Friday in which he reminded readers that the Commission intends to finalise all its Digital Single Market proposals during the course of this year and shared its upcoming areas of focus.
"First, we will have a package of measures for industry – including on the 700-MHz band, cloud and an ICT standards plan – starting in early spring," Ansip said.
Germany became the first country in Europe to auction 700-MHz spectrum in June 2015, followed by France later in the year, while the U.K. government pledged to spend £550 million over five years to clear the 700-MHz band for mobile broadband. The ITU allocated 700-MHz for LTE use in Region 1 at WRC-15 in November, thereby globally harmonising the band.
Ansip said the initial package will be followed by an e-commerce package that will include a legislative proposal to tackle unjustified geo-blocking, a practice that restricts users from buying goods online from markets outside their own, for example.
"I firmly believe that people and businesses should not be restrained by barriers when they shop or sell online," Ansip insisted.
Other 2016 DSM proposals will include work on reforming Europe’s telecoms laws, cybersecurity, the promotion of the free flow of data, and copyright.
The European Commission in December presented three proposals aimed at improving cross-border access to online content and services, its first under the DSM strategy.
"Guaranteeing cross-border portability is especially important given the forthcoming end of roaming surcharges: from mid-June 2017, you will pay the same price to use a mobile phone while travelling in the EU as you do at home," Ansip said on Friday, adding that EU regulations should allow people to use their mobile phones to access content abroad that they have paid for at home.
Technical and political negotiations are getting underway on that issue, he said, including detailed discussions with the European Parliament, in committees and at plenary sessions, and with EU member states.
"Of course, nothing will – or can – happen overnight. But it is important now to get things moving: if these proposals are to become reality, especially before the end of this Commission’s five-year term in office, speed is of the essence," Ansip said. "In addition, the digital economy is not going to wait for us."
