Europe could gain up to € 4bn in digital value per day if industry and regulators embrace digital transformation, according to a new report commissioned by ETNO, the association representing Europe’s largest telecom operators.
Leveraging digital solutions would also allow to reduce the EU’s CO2e emissions by 34% by 2030 and for 11% of the EU population to complete high-quality online training courses. On the downside, without decisive policy and industry action, Europe could face further value loss to digital disruptors and telcos in other regions, which has amounted to €100m a day for the past decade, and over 50% of current European jobs could be affected by digitization.
“Digitalization provides a real opportunity for Europe to creating equitable prosperity, improve quality of life for its citizens and ensure environmental sustainability,” says Phillip Malloch, the group public affairs for Telia Company. “What we need now is a commitment and policy action from the EU and Member States to make this vision a reality.”
The report “Lead or Lose – A vision for Europe’s digital future” draws on Accenture’s Strategy research as well as interviews with 13 telecom CEOs, one head of state and around 20 highly acclaimed though-leaders in the field of telecoms, tech and policymaking.
The report calls for a digital overhaul of Europe’s industrial fabric and institutions supported by urgent policy action. Three cornerstones of digital value creation have the potential to steer Europe onto the path into a successful digital future – an ecosystem around the Internet of Everything (IoE), pervasive low-latency networks and institutions that are recreated in the digital world.
