On March 9th, the European Commission unveiled its vision "for a successful digital transformation of Europe by 2030". A series of objectives to be met in less than ten years, such as the availability of all key public services on the web or the increase in skills of individuals.

5G is one of these objectives. Mobile broadband is gradually arriving on the Old Continent and Brussels wants this new technology to be available in all populated areas by 2030.

According to the European Commission, 14% of populated areas will be covered by 5G by 2021. A figure that may seem high given the very recent nature of this standard. But the wording chosen by the European executive excludes uninhabited areas, which in fact evacuates large parts of the continent from the calculation. Nine years would therefore be enough to fill the remaining 86%.

But countries are free to go faster if they wish. In France, the entire network could be in 5G by 2030. This is in any case the perspective that the former president of Arcep, Sebastien Soriano, has drawn in 2019. A first step will have to be taken in 2025, with two thirds of the population covered.

The timetable for 5G contains several appointments, depending on the imperatives of territorial planning (coverage of major transport routes and more rural areas) and the circumstances of current events (like the Summer Olympics Games in 2024). In addition, the regulator will provide additional licenses to operators to operate additional frequencies.

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Source : Numerama

Announced in June 2015, following an agreement between the European Parliaments and the Council, the end of roaming charges became a reality two years later. If everyone has since taken a liking for this measure, which avoids unpleasant surprises on their phone bill when travelling abroad, it should end in 2022.

The European Commission has therefore just proposed to extend the abolition of roaming charges between member countries for another ten years. The objective is to go even further: "Consumers will be able to benefit from the same quality and speed of connection to their mobile network abroad as at home, when equivalent networks are available," specifies the institution in a press release.

Indeed, 33% of Europeans consider that their mobile connection speed is of lower quality when they are abroad. The operators of the country visited would therefore be required to provide equivalent performance when consumers are roaming.

A subject that has been close to the EU's heart for many years. In fact, European consumers have already seen an 80% drop in the price of calls, SMS and data transfers between EU countries since 2007.

Negotiations are still ongoing with telephone operators. They are trying to measure the impact of the new measures desired by the Commission.

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Source : Presse Citron

According to Reuters, the European Commission has just opened an investigation into cable imports from China to the Old Continent. The aim is to check the business practices of Chinese manufacturers, which their European counterparts accuse of selling at too low a price.

Following a complaint filed on 10th August by Europacable, the European cable manufacturers' lobby, an anti-dumping investigation has been launched. If the European Commission agrees with the complainants, it could lead to the imposition of customs barriers within 15 months.

Europacable believes that the conditions for marketing in Europe single-mode fibre made in China are unfair because of the artificially low tariffs applied. In its complaint, the cable manufacturers' organisation also asked to see this trend increase against the backdrop of the imposition of customs barriers on these Chinese products in the United States. This would risk redirecting to Europe the volumes not sold across the Atlantic.

An initiative echoing the alarm signal sounded a year ago by the union of French manufacturers in the sector. Quarter after quarter, Sycabel highlights the sharp drop in fibre optic orders for the French telecoms sector and the concomitant rise in Asian imports.

In its last quarterly report, the organisation recalled the difficulties that this situation was causing for a "French sector of excellence", while "massive investments have been made to support the deployment of the France THD plan".

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Source : DegroupTest

Margrethe Vestager, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of digital technologies, is reported to have called the European telecoms ministers to order so that the allocation of the 5G spectrum does not fall too far behind schedule.

The EU's current objectives in this area, set for 2016, are to bring 5G to market in at least one major city in each EU country by the end of 2020, as well as in all urban areas and major transport axes by 2025.

The Vice-President's intervention would follow a request from Croatia to review this action plan and timetable.

Many countries, including Spain, Austria, Portugal, Poland and the Czech Republic, have still not allocated their first 5G frequencies. Procedures have been postponed due to the pandemic and subsequent containment measures.

In France, auctions are expected to be postponed until September at the latest for a subsequent deployment. Commercialization is therefore possible this fall.

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Source : 01net

In a report published with the European Agency for Cybersecurity on securing 5G networks, the European Commission warned EU Member States of the dangerousness of new wireless telecommunications technology. For the Commission, the deployment of 5G risks "creating a new security paradigm that requires a reassessment of the current policy and security framework applicable to the sector and its ecosystem and is essential for Member States to take the necessary mitigation measures".

In more detail, this report calls for a review of the current design of 3G and 4G networks and warns against the use of a single supplier, particularly those not based in the European Union, without however mentioning the name Huawei. "The increased role of software and services provided by third party providers in 5G networks leads to greater exposure to a number of vulnerabilities that may result from the risk profile of individual providers".

The European Commission also explains: "While 5G network technology and standards will also bring some security improvements over previous generations, several important challenges arise from new features of the network architecture and the wide range of services and applications that may in the future depend heavily on 5G networks. [...] Major security breaches, such as those resulting from poor software development processes among equipment suppliers, could facilitate the malicious insertion of intentional backdoors into products by actors and make them more difficult to detect. This can increase the likelihood that their exploitation will have a particularly serious and widespread negative impact".

The report adds that EU Member States should not judge 5G network providers solely on their technical qualities and assess them on the basis of "non-technical vulnerabilities related to 5G networks", such that the provider's country has "no legislative or democratic control and balance in place, or in the absence of security or data protection agreements between the EU and the given third country" or that the structure of the provider's owner and the ability for its own country to "exert any pressure, in particular with respect to the manufacture of equipment". If Huawei's name is not mentioned, it is impossible not to think about it...

As a result, Huawei once again defended itself against any interference from the Chinese authorities: "We are a 100% private company, 100% employee-owned, and cybersecurity is a top priority: our end-to-end cybersecurity assurance system covers all process areas, and our solid experience proves that it works".

No one is saying that the Commission will respond to this extended hand, since it has apparently also decided to sweep away another option proposed by Huawei. Indeed, the Chinese manufacturer had indicated that it could be satisfied with intervening only on parts considered less sensitive in the future 5G networks of EU Member States.

The European Union's next steps will result in the publication of a range of mitigation measures to address the identified cybersecurity risks at the national and EU levels by 31 December 2019. Finally, Member States should assess the effects of the Recommendation in order to determine whether further measures should be taken by 1 October 2020. This assessment should take into account the results of the coordinated European risk assessment and the effectiveness of the measures.

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Source : ZDnet