Brussels: The European Commission unveiled the Digital Networks Act on 21 January 2026, a sweeping proposal that would rewrite Europe’s telecom rulebook and let a single licence carry an operator across all 27 member states. The reform aims to pull the bloc’s fragmented digital networks into one market and to spur the investment that regulators say Europe’s fibre and 5G rollout badly needs.
At the heart of the plan sits a “single passport” for operators. Under the current regime, a company that wants to offer connectivity in several countries must notify each national regulator separately. The Commission wants operators to notify authorities in only one member state and then work across the bloc, and it would add an EU-level authorisation for satellite spectrum.
The Commission framed the package as a bet on scale. European telecom operators remain small and numerous next to their American and Chinese rivals, and Brussels argues that a genuine single market would give them room to grow. Officials set out the logic in the official announcement of the reform.
The draft also tackles the slow shift from copper to fibre. It would mandate a copper switch-off by 31 December 2035, with earlier deadlines in areas that already reach 95 percent fibre coverage. Operators would gain longer spectrum licences and clearer rules on renewals, changes the industry has sought for years.
Notably, the proposal steps around the fiercest fight in European telecoms. For years, network operators have demanded that large content platforms such as streaming services pay a “fair share” toward the cost of the traffic they generate. The Commission declined to impose any such levy, instead requiring networks to grant access on fair terms except in narrow cases.
Governance would change too. The plan creates a new Office for Digital Networks in Riga that would coordinate national regulators and oversee the single-passport system. The Commission has published the full text and background on its Digital Networks Act policy page.
None of this is settled. The proposal now enters the ordinary legislative procedure, where the European Parliament and the Council will each draft their own positions before trilogue talks begin. Telecom incumbents, challengers, Big Tech and consumer groups will all push hard, and the fair-share question is likely to resurface in Parliament.
For consumers, the stakes are concrete. Faster fibre, more resilient networks and cheaper cross-border services all hinge on whether Brussels can turn 27 national markets into one. If the digital networks reform survives the coming fight, it could reshape how Europeans connect for the next decade. If it stalls, the bloc’s connectivity gap with its rivals may widen further.
