Europe’s largest telecoms groups have urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to soften merger control, arguing that greater market scale is needed to accelerate network investment and strengthen competitiveness against the United States and Asia.
In a joint letter sent on Tuesday, the chief executives of Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, TIM, Vodafone, Nokia and Ericsson said the current framework inhibits consolidation and, by extension, the sector’s ability to finance upgrades to fibre and 5G. Their appeal comes as the Commission prepares to table a Digital Networks Act (DNA) in November intended to take a more comprehensive approach to Europe’s connectivity rollout. An internal Commission body issued a negative opinion on the draft last week, according to reporting by Reuters.
The executives called the DNA a “crucial opportunity” and pressed Brussels to “recognise the link between scale and investment”. In practical terms, the industry wants a clearer path for mergers that reduce the number of mobile network operators in a given market from four to three, a type of transaction that has long faced close antitrust scrutiny because of concerns over retail prices.
The latest lobbying drive builds on months of sector pressure for regulatory reform. Telecom leaders have framed consolidation as a prerequisite for Europe to meet connectivity targets and compete with well-capitalised peers in other regions. At the same time, operators have had to adjust expectations on other potential funding sources: in July, the Commission said network “fair share” fees on large content and cloud platforms were not a viable mechanism to finance rollout, signalling that broader legislative measures would be pursued instead.
The Commission has maintained that competition policy remains central to investment and innovation. In April 2024, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager defended the existing rules, arguing that competitive pressure produces stronger firms and that Europe can foster industrial strength without relaxing merger control per se. Her comments pre-dated the DNA process but set out the institutional thinking the industry is seeking to shift.
For the sector, the timing is important. European telecoms groups have reported subdued growth in mature markets and, in some cases, are prioritising expansion in faster-growing geographies. Analysts and company leaders have linked that dynamic to a fragmented EU market with persistent price competition and overlapping infrastructure, which in their view dilutes returns on capital. As a result, operators argue they face a structural investment disadvantage relative to rivals in markets with fewer, larger players.
The DNA is expected to outline measures spanning investment incentives, spectrum policy and regulatory simplification. While details have not been formally released, the initiative is intended to present a single framework for digital networks rather than isolated reforms. The negative opinion from an internal Commission body last week suggests further internal debate before publication. The CEOs’ letter appears aimed at influencing that final stage, pressing for an explicit signal that Brussels will accept more consolidation where it can be shown to support investment without harming consumers.
Four-to-three mobile mergers have been a recurring fault line in EU enforcement. The Commission has in the past blocked or demanded extensive remedies for such deals on the basis that reduced rivalry can lead to higher prices or lower service quality. Industry, by contrast, says that market structure should be assessed case by case, with dynamic efficiency and the cost of future upgrades weighed alongside immediate price effects. Tuesday’s intervention from the CEOs underscores the sector’s view that Europe’s current approach undervalues scale economies in 5G, fibre and the coming generation of cloud-edge infrastructure.
Any recalibration will unfold against a wider policy backdrop. The Commission has already signalled that funding Europe’s digital ambitions will not hinge on network levies for Big Tech, closing off one of the more contested options. Meanwhile, member states and national regulators continue to manage spectrum auctions, wholesale access and consumer protection—areas that influence investment incentives irrespective of merger policy. The DNA’s reception in the European Parliament and Council will therefore be critical to determining how far the EU shifts from its current model.
For now, the sector’s position is clear: operators want the Commission to set out a simplified, investment-oriented regime that treats scale as a legitimate policy objective alongside consumer welfare. Whether that translates into a more permissive stance on consolidation will become apparent when the DNA is unveiled and when the first significant merger proposals are tested under any revised guidance.
