Spectrum Policy and the EU Digital Single Market: Lessons from the United States

The European Union has outlined a set of ambitious goals in its Digital Single Market proposals, including a set of proposed reforms to radio spectrum management to create an EU-wide market for mobile communications. While challenging, the goal of a single telecoms market is also the most promising: the mobile digital economy is poised to have a tremendous impact on growth, productivity, and progress throughout the 21st century. Europe should take this opportunity to achieve a true single market for mobile by moving wireless policy from the national level and centralizing spectrum management functions, harmonizing regulations, and allowing for industry consolidation to fit the scale of a single market.

The difficulty in enacting these reforms is considerable, with member countries wanting to retain autonomy and control over industries and inputs, but success will mean significantly greater value throughout the entire EU mobile ecosystem. ITIF recommends bold action over half-measures—most importantly in centralizing EU-wide spectrum management—and hopes the Commission is successful in these efforts. We offer five key lessons from the United States that may help inform the European Union’s attempt to create a true single market for mobile communications:

1. Consolidated EU-wide spectrum management and harmonization of regulations.
2. Permissive merger policy.
3. Reallocation of broadcast spectrum for mobile broadband.
4. Technologically neutral, flexible licenses tradeable on a secondary market.
5. Neutral spectrum policy eschewing active market shaping.