Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, who also presides over the Eurogroup, has made it a priority to establish a European Spectrum Union, to replace 27 separate radio wave auctions.
Instead of the independent spectrum auctions by each state, the EU would manage and auction spectrum collectively.
Talks about the issue are already afoot: Joakim Reiter, corporate affairs officer of cell phone operator Vodafone, met Pierrakakis in Athens Thursday.
Pierrakakis’ plan includes setting up a special reserve fund that the telecom industry would use to develop and upgrade new-generation networks.
“Europe cannot lead ... with a market moving at 27 different speeds; harmonizing the spectrum policy is the only way for our telecom industry to achieve the critical economies of scale needed to compete globally,” Pierrakakis said.
