Industry, research and energy (ITRE),  L'industrie, la recherche et l'énergie (ITRE)

[NUMÉRIQUE] Débat animé mais constructif au Parlement européen

Je parrainais ce jeudi 2 Juillet un petit-déjeuner de travail au Parlement européen autour de la thématique du numérique en Europe, organisé à l’initiative du groupe Prysmian. Parmi la quarantaine de participants figuraient des parties prenantes de tous horizons: régulateurs, avec des représentants de la Commission et des élus, membres de la BEI, et acteurs du privé.

Prysmian photo 3

Nous y avons discuté des enjeux du marché unique du numérique, et notamment sur le plan des infrastructures. Tous s’accordent sur la nécessité de planifier des investissements sur le long terme afin de permettre un équipement de qualité sur l’ensemble du territoire. À ce titre, un représentant de Prysman, leader mondial en fibre optique, a mis en exergue le pauvre choix stratégique que représente une politique court-termiste. En effet, négliger aujourd’hui la qualité de nos installations sous-tend inévitablement des dépenses supplémentaires demain. Ce qui est particulièrement vrai compte tenu de la croissance exponentielle du nombre d’objets connectés.

La 5G, dont la perspective point à l’horizon 2020, était également à l’ordre du jour.

J’ai pour ma part réaffirmé ma volonté de construire une stratégie cohérente à l’échelle européenne, via une harmonisation des plans d’investissements et objectifs nationaux.

Retrouvez le verbatim de mon discours introductif:

« Digital and I is a long love affair. As a mayor of Valenciennes in 1994, I have settled the first ever high speed system in a French public building: the city library. A story that’s still going on as we have recently founded the intergroup on long term investment and reindustrialisation. A new forum where, for once, all the involved stakeholders (project holders, financial sector, regulators) can debate on infrastructures (energy, transport and digital) financing.

For some years, both the Commission and the European Parliament have expressed strong willingness in its objective to create a real Digital Single Market which is made of two main components.

On the one hand, the networks.

Digital infrastructures are of key importance for developing digital economy. Moreover, being regardless on the need to develop high quality digital infrastructure is too short-term view. A metaphor I like to use is: if you want to develop maritime trade then you need to focus on shipping and its resilience.

In this perspective, EU acts in three ways:

– Financial support to networks through grants from the Connecting Europe Facility.

– Financial support to research by devoting 700 million € from Horizon 2020 on 5G Infrastructure.

– More generally, by contributing to the Digital Single Market’s achievement through the Juncker Plan. For instance, the recent agreement reached by anticipation, between the EIB and the French National Promotional Bank, to deploy fiber optic in rural areas.

From a broader point of view, the relationship between project holders (such as Prysmian or Telecom operators) and finance sector is not a supplier / customer one (B to C). They must be seen as very interdependent.

From a Iocal point of view, I would like to suggest the European Commission together with the EIB and the Member States to give more tools to local authorities in order to invest in networks.

On the other hand, shortly, the services.

I would like to welcome yesterday’s decision to abolish on 15 June 2017, the roaming fees applied by the mobile phone operators when users are traveling in Europe. The digital market fragmentation is an obstacle to growth and investment. The abolition of roaming fees is not only a major step for the creation of a telecom single market in Europe, it is also essential for the competitiveness of our industry and for jobs.

As a fervent of net neutrality or, better said, networks loyalty, I would like reaffirmed my strong believe in a strict unbundling between services operators and networks operators. Fair competition, competitiveness, consumers’ benefit and emergence of new companies are at stake.

I hope that from this panel news ways will emerge to attract private finance into strong added value projects in the ICT. Reliable high speed broadband like other infrastructure are key to increase our potential growth and thus boost European real economy competitiveness in a globalized market. »

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