The EU is lagging well behind other advanced economies, including most notably the US, when it comes to mobile telephony.
A comparative report written by GSMA, the international association of mobile operators, and entitled Mobile wireless performance in the EU and US finds that the EU is significantly underperforming the US in the deployment of next generation wireless infrastructures and the advanced services they make possible, to the detriment of EU consumers.
Most importantly, investments in mobile networks is increasing in the US, but diminishing in the EU. Consequently, the gap in the deployment of new mobile telephony technologies is increase between the two regions and, according to the report, is likely to increase further in the immediate future.
GSMA attributes the primary responsibility for this situation to the fragmentation of the European mobile telephony market, which represents a major obstacle to the deployment of networks and innovation, thus limiting consumers’ choices. In order to remedy the existing deficiencies, GSMA proposes the adoption of regulatory reforms focusing on investment and innovation.
