Leading ICT journalist Jennifer Baker’s talks with Ryan Ding CEO of the Carrier Network BG at Huawei, about the EU Telecoms Package at the FT-ETNO summit 2013.

Ryan Ding points out that the ICT sector should be seen as a strategic area to accumulate growth, also in Europe, and that, therefore pro-active policies and regulations should encourage necessary investments. He also confirms that Huawei will continue investing in the European mobile market.

“I believe for the EU we should not treat the ICT industry just as a cash cow and we should treat the ICT industry as a strategic area.”

The European Commission recently issued the “Connected Continent: Building a Telecoms Single Market” legislative package. The proposal addresses roaming costs, simplifies rules to raise investment rates, introduces EU-wide net neutrality protection, to fight the current practices of stopping, blocking and throttling of data by providers, and dismisses higher costs on fixed-line long distance calls. A conclusion in the Council of the EU is still outstanding but necessary so that the European Parliament can vote on it before the elections in May 2014.