Los telecommunication operators have met again in Madrid to ‘close’ the economic course, with the permission of the results, in a Digital Summit which has started by compiling the demands that the sector has been promoting in recent times.
Thus, after an inauguration in which the First Vice President and Minister of Economic Affairs, Nadia Calvinohas celebrated the reduction of the digital divide in the country and the promotion of digital investment in Spain, both Telefónica and Orange have insisted on two points: that the big tech companies pay for networks and the need to consolidate the sector in Europe and allow operators to gain scale.
At this second point, the merger between Orange and MoreMobile It has emerged as the icebreaker that will test the willingness of the European Commission to open its hand and allow a market with larger operators, as is the case in the United States. The CEO of Orange Spain, Ludovic Pechhas highlighted the positive effects that the union in the country: “The agreement between Orange and MásMóvil is going to be key to ensuring the necessary size to continue innovating and creating the necessary scales in a market as competitive as the Spanish one,” he assured.
After his speech, he revealed that the operator plans to meet this Thursday with the European Comission to continue advancing in the merger. The executive has ensured that the statement of objections presented by Brussels shows that the dialogue is being “constructive” and has continued to insist that the company’s objective is to convince the community body that the remedies (mandatory divestitures to authorize the merger) are not required. Along the same lines, he has stressed the need to establish “adequate commercial frameworks with the large traffic generators” so that they cover the cost of the networks.
The president of Telefónica Spain had previously expressed himself along the same lines, Emilio Gayowho has emphasized the difficulty of reconciling a deflationary sector with the huge amounts of investment in networks that will be necessary to embrace technologies such as artificial intelligence.