Prysmian Group, world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, drew attention to the importance of network infrastructure today at the FT-ETNO Summit 2018. The Group’s Senior Vice
President for Telecoms, Philippe Vanhille, laid out a vision for a successful future telecoms and digital sector,
speaking at the flagship event on telecoms policy in Brussels.

Sharing a stage with the heads of leading European telecom operators, he presented his views on the future model for broadband networks, emphasising the importance of both investors and policy-makers taking a long-term view.

In the fast-changing digital sector, this means promoting the deployment of high-quality passive infrastructure that will be able to respond to as yet undefined future demands for digital capacity. With the negotiations over the future European telecoms framework finally complete at EU level and the European Parliament starting to prepare itself for the next elections, EU politicians and officials are now entering a period of both assessment and brainstorming.

On the one hand, they must measure and assess the immediate effects of the new framework, as Member States begin the task of implementing the rules into their national laws. On the other, as a wider period of reflection begins in the lead up to the European elections, they are considering the future steers
they want to give to the European digital economy.

Prysmian Group is convinced that even in this time of political change, it is crucial to stay focussed on the ambitious goals laid down by the European Commission on connectivity. First and foremost, this means investment in a homogenous and future-proof optical fibre infrastructure. “We need the concept of deep fibre to become mainstream”, explained Philippe Vanhille “a dense fibre network that can fulfil the requirements of future digital applications”.

At risk in this debate is the foundation of the Gigabit Society. Prysmian Group will continue steadfastly contributing to the EU debate on this vital issue, working to ensure that focus is maintained on the infrastructure needs that will ultimately satisfy the digital demands of European citizens. With such high stakes, it is crucial that political expediency does not get in the way of sound investments.