The European Commission published a study which highlights that if the internal market for electronic communications were completed, the EU gross domestic product (GDP) could grow by up to €110 billion a year. In addition the study carried out by an international team of experts points out three main types of policy measures to tackle obstacles.

According to a study recently published by the European Commission, completing the internal market for electronic communications, could make the EU gross domestic product (GDP) grow by up to €110 billion a year, or more than 0.8% of GDP. The study, that was carried out by an international team of experts and academics, suggests three main types of policy measures to tackle obstacles which consists of reducing regulatory fragmentation (e.g. common rules on contract duration and transparency of bills); more European standardisation (to allow pan-European services of assured quality to emerge in areas such as e-Health, e-Energy, e-Mobility); and the need for more coordination of the activities of national telecoms regulators at EU level. In May 2011, new EU telecoms rules to ensure a more competitive telecoms sector entered into force.

The study looks into the reasons why many European telecoms operators do not enter other European markets where retail prices remain higher than in their national markets. Among the most important are the lack of EU standards, the differences in the implementation of the European regulatory framework, and the lack of coordination of national spectrum policies leading to different speeds of adopting 4G (high speed mobile broadband).

The team of experts points out that the benefits of suggested action can be considerable. In the coming years, the drivers of growth will be online services such as movies and games (which will evolve from High Definition to technologies such as 3D, e-Health or e-Learning). These services require guaranteed quality of service. It therefore requires pan-European standards, since what might work in one Member State may not be possible in another.