The current economic environment is challenging for all businesses in Europe. However, for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the inflationary pressure means that the cost of doing business may become unsustainable. Against this backdrop, and with overlapping crises impacting the global competitiveness of European businesses, digitalisation can unlock multiple benefits for SMEs. This paper aims to gauge SMEs’ needs in an increasingly digitalised world and how policymakers and large organisations can work together to help them realise their full digital potential, in line with the EU’s 2030 Digital Decade targets.

In this report, commissioned by Vodafone, Deloitte considers the economic potential of machine-generated, non-personal data in the European Union. This type of data is particularly relevant to the Internet of Things and Deloitte’s review focuses on the agriculture, automotive, healthcare, smart city and manufacturing sectors. The report estimates the potential value of this form of data and how this value is derived from sharing. It also identifies barriers to that value being realised and makes policy recommendations to ease those barriers.

This study focuses on the important role that 5G mobile has to play in achieving the Gigabit Society vision, highlighting the consumer and industrial innovations that 5G will facilitate. It also makes recommendations on the key policy areas that need to be addressed in order to capitalise on the benefits that 5G can bring.

5G with the Internet of Things – everyone connected to everything – is as transformational for small to large enterprises as 4G was for consumers. China and the US have understood 5G’s strategic importance and are investing at speed through scaled operators with strong balance sheets. This is in stark contrast to Europe, where regulation has promoted price over quality, leaving the sector fragmented and indebted, and the continent with a large investment gap.

Policymakers recognise that gigabit connectivity propels the digital transformation of both industry and society. A successful rollout of 5G across Europe is a necessary condition for this European digital transformation. Therefore, consistent and predictable regulation is critical, supported by policies that promote development and tackle fragmentation. Despite this, there is an ongoing regulatory discussion on the issue of whether internationally harmonised cellular spectrum should be ‘set aside’ for private localised use instead of auctioned to whoever is able to create the largest value to society, including nationwide public networks. In this report, we demonstrate that set-aside policies will lead to a significant consumer welfare loss, reducing the incentive for investment by distorting competition, inflating the costs of spectrum licences and limiting the ability of operators to build the best 5G networks possible for everyone. This report includes expert independent analysis and evidence from the consultancies Arthur D. Little and Compass Lexecon.

The value IoT could bring to Europe is well recognised. If the regulatory landscape is right, these benefits could transform Europe’s standing in terms of global competitiveness and 5G connectivity. In order to unlock these advantages, a new cross-sectoral regulatory framework is needed.

Vodafone believes in the promise of Europe. Despite the significant and important progress driven by the Digital Single Market, we believe that Europe needs a step change: one that turbo-charges investment and lays the foundations for top-class European digital infrastructure through the creation of better conditions for digital solutions made in Europe and which builds trust in the digital society, empowering European citizens. The EU’s strategic agenda spanning 2019-2024 will be pivotal. This white paper examines policies that could address the significant challenges that Europe faces today and which will ensure that Europe is in a position to be a global leader in the next phase of the digital revolution.

In the digital deployment report, we have identified six key policy aspects that, we believe, impact investors’ abilities to deploy competing fixed and mobile digital networks in a given market. Governments and policymakers can stimulate investment by examining their policies in each of these areas in comparison with peers and ensuring they have a plan to adopt best practice. This report provides policymakers with the best practices and the degree of variation across our 12 EU markets and makes policy recommendations to improve the ease of digital infrastructure deployment.

The European Union’s (EU) Digital Decade, which sets key targets on different digital areas until 2030, is the EU’s vision for Europe’s digital transformation and a critical element in Europe maintaining its global competitiveness in a rapidly changing world. Yet the proportion of businesses using cloud technology, in particular, must significantly increase in order to meet the European Commission’s Digital Decade 2030 goal. In this report, produced by Deloitte and commissioned by Vodafone, four key policy enablers are set out that could help enable the EU to realise its European Digital Decade goals.