Building Europe's digital infrastructure of tomorrow

As a global technology race unfolds, Europe is deploying the regulatory framework and investments needed to foster innovation and technological leadership in areas such as online platforms, artificial intelligence, data, cloud, quantum technologies and virtual worlds. In today's rapidly changing economic context, a state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure is a key pillar for growth, innovation and job creation.

For this technological revolution to succeed, says EC Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, it must be ensured that European networks are up to the task in terms of transmission speed, storage capacity, computing power and interoperability. To this end, it will seek to promote a Digital Networks Act that will serve to redefine the DNA of Europe's telecommunications sector.

Exploratory consultation on the future of the electronic communications sector and its infrastructure

From 23 February to 19 May 2023, the European Commission conducted an exploratory consultation on the future of the electronic communications sector and its infrastructure. The aim was to gather views from different stakeholders, in particular on the technological and market changes affecting the sector, as well as the types of infrastructure and investments that Europe is expected to need to lead the digital transformation in the coming years. The consultation was divided into four areas: (i) technological and market developments, (ii) fairness for consumers, (iii) barriers to the single market and (iv) fair contribution of all digital actors.

The Commission received close to 500 responses to the consultation from different interest groups such as companies (including network providers as well as large traffic generators), business associations, citizens, non-governmental organisations, academic institutions, consumer organisations and trade unions, as well as comments from public authorities. Most of the responses came from the EU, although there were also participants from other invited countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

From the exploratory consultation on the future of the electronic communications sector and its infrastructure, the following conclusions can be drawn:

• The need for innovation and efficient investment in technologies such as network virtualisation, artificial intelligence, open networks and perimeter cloud (in that order of importance), recognising that these will have a substantial impact on the sector in the coming years by driving cost reductions. Network virtualisation is expected to be the technology with the greatest impact by enabling greater flexibility and improved network efficiency, offering a great opportunity to develop new business models. In terms of investment, most respondents expect that a significant part of their annual revenues in the coming years (up to 50% of revenues) will have to be spent on investments in connectivity infrastructure and replacement of devices from providers considered high risk. Public funding is seen as crucial, but questions remain as to whether it will be enough and how to attract more private investment.
• The second conclusion, relating to consumer equity, is that the majority of respondents indicate that overall broadband access prices will decrease in the coming years, although there is more discrepancy when considering high transmission speeds. There is also no consensus among respondents on the effectiveness/efficiency of the Universal Service Obligation rules to protect consumers with special needs, and there is also disagreement on whether it should continue to be financed by the public budget or by network providers.
• It also points to the importance of harnessing the single market to drive investment and innovation, cooperating on key technology developments, and standardising technologies and platform building, so as to support the deployment of initiatives based on federated, interoperable and open source models. The majority of responses indicate that streamlining and simplifying regulation by harmonising best practices at EUlevel would serve to reduce administrative burdens, supply chain and/or regulatory costs, thereby increasing efficiency and speed of infrastructure deployment.
• The fourth conclusion focuses on the need to protect EU networks. In an interconnected world with growing geopolitical tensions, security is critical. Despite advances in the security of 5G networks, gaps remain in the protection of network infrastructure. A more coordinated European approach, especially with regard to further integration of radio spectrum, and with a better aligned auction model and licensing conditions between regions, could improve coverage in border areas and strengthen the EU against harmful external interference.
• Finally, as regards the contribution of digital players to network roll-out, several telco providers anticipate a negative outlook for the next 5 years, driven by the continued fall in unit prices (in terms of EUR/Mbps), which offset the potential revenues from increased data traffic and, therefore, to the detriment of the investments needed to support such traffic. More than half of the respondents answered in the affirmative on the question of whether large digital players should contribute in a fair and proportionate way to the costs of public goods, services and infrastructure, and on the potential introduction of a mandatory mechanism for direct payments from content application providers.

The role of communications networks in the development of data spaces

The data spaces are ecosystems from which to realise the voluntary sharing of data among their participants, based on the creation of an environment of sovereignty, trust and cybersecurity. In contrast to traditional monolithic models, data spaces are virtual, federated environmentsand are therefore established through integrated governance, organisational, regulatory and technical mechanisms.

Data spaces ensure that a large amount of data and algorithms are available for use in the economy and society, while the companies, organisations and individuals that generate these resources retain control over them. As such, these data sets and algorithms will aspire to maintain their residence in the computer systems of their respective owners, connecting with others on an ad hoc basis according to precise needs, which is why data spaces require a renewed infrastructure of communication networks. Based on 5G (or even 6G) technology, data transmission with lower latency and higher capacity is enabled, and also drives the development of edge computing solutions (edge computing), which allow added flexibility for the emerging European Data Economy.

Likewise, operators, through initiatives such as Open Gateway, will also be able to transform their telecommunication networks into value-added platforms, making their capabilities more flexible and available through standardised APIs, with which to develop new applications and digital solutions of greater complexity and scope. Such developments may encourage the participation, collaboration and interoperability of the different actors in the data spaces, with telecommunications operators also playing an important role as facilitators, not only in the development of use cases, but also in the implementation and operation of these use cases.

Autonomous vehicles, smart waste management services, trainers that monitor how much we exercise... We live in an increasingly digital and connected environment, with greater similarities to the future we dreamed of as children. It is the so-called Internet of Things (IoT), a network of physical objects that use sensors and APIs to connect with each other and exchange data over the Internet. Its rise is unstoppable and by 2025 it is expected that there will be more than 30 billion IoT connections in the world, which is an average of almost 4 IoT devices per person.

This boom means that the amount of data to be processed and managed is increasing. Traditionally, these connected objects collect information and send it to large data centres for processing. But sending the data to the data centre for processing takes time that we sometimes don't have, and the problem comes in certain use cases where fast responses are needed and every millisecond is crucial, such as in autonomous driving. This is where the edge computing paradigm comes in, as a way to improve agility and efficiency.

What is edge computing?

Edge computing is a new approach to running certain services as close as possible to the source of the data. In other words, computational processes are performed on the connected devices themselves or on local peripheral servers (edge nodes). This brings a number of advantages:

• Lower latency time and higher speed. Latency is the time it takes for a data packet to be transferred within the network. By avoiding the step of sending all the information for processing to the cloud, the response time is reduced, providing immediacy.
• Lower bandwidth requirement, as it is not necessary to send all raw data to servers. Edge computing reduces global traffic loads, avoiding system saturation.
• Reduced security risks. It is true that edge computing expands the potential attack surface, but it reduces the impact on the organisation as a whole. When you centralise all data, analytics and processing, a single denial-of-service attack can disrupt all operations. By distributing the loads across the various nodes, the risk is also distributed. One process may fail, but the rest could continue to operate.
• Facilitates scalability. Given the exponential growth of data and analytics capabilities, it is difficult to foresee the IT infrastructure needs to cope with the future (e.g. servers with the capacity to analyse all incoming information). By incorporating edge computing services, organisations can quickly and cost-effectively extend the reach of their network by adding a new edge node.
• Reduced costs. Edge computing devices require more software capabilities for optimal performance than those that simply capture data and send it for remote analysis. However, they also allow data to be sorted from a management perspective. In other words, devices can be deployed with customised capabilities for various analytics, without the need to over-invest.

Advances in edge computing go hand in hand with 5G, which enables more devices to connect to each other and exchange data at higher speeds.

Edge computing will also continue to be complemented by cloud environments: edge computing capabilities will be more appropriate where speed and low latency in data transfer are needed, while the cloud will continue to be essential for handling large volumes of data that require greater computing power.

The impact of edge computing on smart cities

Given the above advantages, it seems obvious that edge computing represents a breakthrough for data management in various sectors, from healthcare and telemedicine to Industry 4.0. For example, Navantia, the Spanish public shipbuilding company, is implementing this technology, with the support of Red.es. Combining 5G, edge computing and the use of augmented reality glasses, it is innovating in construction processes and remote technical assistance.

But if there is one area where edge computing is particularly important, it is in smart cities. In essence, smart cities rely on IoT devices to provide connectivity and situational data analysis. Devices such as security cameras and various sensors - which transmit data related to transportation, lighting or smart buildings - operate within a city-wide network to provide a better experience for citizens. Edge computing and 5G facilitate real-time decisions, which can be made automatically by the devices themselves rather than sending data to another central computer for processing, making it easier to manage the city. This can also have an impact on the publication of open data, which could be made more agile and accessible through dynamic services.

In the city of Barcelona, edge computing use cases are being tested in different applications, such as urban transport, public safety and health services, also with the support of Red.es. Among other issues, thanks to these technologies, they are measuring in real time the best routes for getting around or achieving faster action by the urban police in the event of atmospheric phenomena.

The future of edge computing

Edge computing is expected to gradually take hold. According to EU data - based on an IDC estimate - in 2018, 80% of data processing was carried out in centralised computing facilities and 20% in the smart connected objects themselves. In 2025, the situation will be the other way around, as the following graph shows.

The European Commission, among its activities, also seeks to boost the deployment of technologies linked to edge computing, due to the numerous opportunities it offers. In this respect, its cloud activities fall into two categories:

• Invest funds in cutting-edge projects related to cloud and edge computing.
• Develop policies and standards that protect users, make cloud services more secure, ensure fair competition and create the optimal framework conditions for a thriving European industry.

In the case of Spain, we face the challenge of building 1,000 edge nodes in nine years.

In short, we are facing a new technological paradigm that is necessary due to the enormous amount of data generated not only by smart cities, but also by practically all sectors that are increasingly seeking to be more connected. This generates a need for speed and immediate analysis capabilities that edge computing can help to boost.

Content prepared by the datos.gob.es team.