Ref. Ares(2023)6599487 - 29/09/2023
Commercial
interests and
ongoing
decision-
making
process
To build trust and shape the future of AI, data and robotics in
Europe, the Commission has signed in June 2021 a
Memorandum of Understanding with the European Partnership
on AI, Data and Robotics (ADRA) with a total investment of EUR
2.6 billion.
The Partnership is crucial in providing input to the EC via the
strategic research, innovation and deployment agenda, among
others.
Four sectoral Testing and Experimentation Facilities for AI and
robotics started on 1 January 2023. Funded for five years with
€220 million, they cover the high impact sectors of Healthcare,
Manufacturing, Agriculture and Smart Cities and will support
regulatory sandboxes within these sectors.
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Ongoing
decision-
making
process
3
Commercial
interests
Clarify that the Commission has a neutral stand, and aims to
look at the results of the consultation with an open mind.
KEY messages
The Commission has published (23 February) Connectivity
initiatives to respond to the raising use of digital technology
and the increasing demand for faster, more reliable, data-
intense connections.
The initiatives include a Regulation reviewing the 2014
Broadband Cost Reduction Directive; a Recommendation to
provide guidance to National Regulatory Authorities on how to
apply regulatory remedies to incentivize network deployment
while enabling sustainable competition; and a broad
exploratory consultation on the future of the electronic
communications sector and its infrastructure.
Line to take
The new
Gigabit infrastructure act is proposed as a Regulation
which proposes new rules to quickly make gigabit networks
available across the EU. It addresses the main persisting
challenges in achieving wider gigabit network coverage across
the EU – slow and costly deployment of the underlying physical
infrastructure sustaining advanced networks.
The new draft
Gigabit Recommendation will ensure that new
investments by operators with significant market power are
rewarded in a fair manner. The proposed Gigabit
Recommendation has been sent to the Body of European
Regulators (BEREC) for opinion (2 months) after which it will be
finalised and adopted by the Commission.
Last, we launched
a broad consultation on the future of the
electronic communications sector and its infrastructure,
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new digitalisation trends.
Already, we are very happy that around EUR 16.5 billion RRF
investments have been approved to support the roll-out of
digital connectivity in the next three years.
The EU is also leveraging connectivity investments through the
new Cohesion Funds, the EAFRD for regions, InvestEU, and, last
but not least, CEF Digital.
CEF Digital will make available EUR 2.1 billion over 7 years for
high-performance connectivity infrastructure. It is the first
programme under the Multiannual framework 2021-2027
directly managed by the European Commission.
In addition, in November 2022, the EU agreed to launch IRIS
(Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by
Satellite) with a budget of €2.4 billion, the Union's Secure
Connectivity Programme, including satellite broadband
coverage in remote areas.
Satellites could provide resilient and flexible connectivity
allowing Europe to always remain connected, including in the
event of large-scale cyberattack.
Digital Markets Act (DMA)
Scene setter/ Context
Google has been actively engaged with the Commission
services in the preparation phases for both the Digital Services
Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Ongoing decision-
making process
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Ongoing decision-
making process
Line to take
Defensives/ Q&A
10
Ongoing decision-
making process and
commercial interests
13
Ongoing
decision-
making
process
16
Ongoing
decision-making
process
17
Ongoing decision-
making process
20
Google’s investments on backbone connections linking data centres (including
connectivity network past and committed expenditure) in Europe has only reached
EUR 2.9 billion, invested in 2007 – 2020.
A new report from Analysys Mason (published 1 February 2023) shows that
Telecoms
investment in connectivity networks in Europe reached its highest level since 2016:
in 2021, total telecoms CapEx (fixed, mobile and others) reached €56.3 billion.
Despite this, the same report considers that the EU risks falling short of its “gigabit for
all by 2030” target by 10%. In addition, Europe continues to trail its peers worldwide
in terms of telecoms investment. Investment per capita adjusted to GDP was €104 in
Europe in 2021 compared with €260 in Japan, €150 in the USA and €110 in China.
At the end of 2022, 55.6% of the European population had access to FTTH networks,
up from 50% in 2021. Similarly, 5G is now available to 73% of Europeans, up from
62% the previous year. When it comes to the comparison with global peers, Europe
remains behind. At the end of 2022, 5G coverage of the population reached 96% in
the USA, 95% in South Korea, 90% in Japan and 86% in China.
According to new figures, Europe counted 18 edge cloud offers in 2022, second only
to Asia-Pacific with 19 offers, and performing better than North America, with 5
offers. When it comes to open RAN – open radio access networks that allow
combining of different telecom vendors – Europe scored 6 trials in 2022, the same as
China, followed by the US and South Korea with 3 trials, and Japan with 2.
Cloud switching under the Data Act
With 10% in Q4 2022, Google held the third biggest share in the global cloud market,
behind Microsoft Azure (23%) and Amazon Web Services (32%). In Europe, the cloud
market reached $10.9 billion in 2022, making it over five times as big as it was in early
2017. Google is among the key beneficiaries of this market growth. Together,
Amazon, Microsoft and Google account for 72% of the European cloud market.
Globally, Google Cloud operates 36 cloud regions and 109 availability zones.
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Commercial
interests and
ongoing
•
decision-
making process
25
Personal data
DSA:
(CNECT F2),
Cloud switching under the Data Act:
(CNECT.E2), tel :
Disinformation:
, CNECT I.4.
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