European Wireless Infrastructure Association
EWIA
The European Wireless Infrastructure Association is the European trade association of wholesale wireless infrastructure providers.
ID: 814647792668-37
Lobbying Activity
Response to Report on the review of the Digital Decade Policy Programme
9 Jan 2026
EWIA the European Wireless Infrastructure Association welcomes the opportunity to share its views on the review of the Digital Decade Policy Programme. EWIA is the European trade association of neutral host TowerCos which provide open access to their shared wireless infrastructure. This neutral host model is now the prevalent model in Europe, where our 11 members operate 251,000 wireless infrastructure assets in 20 countries. We serve all mobile network operators (MNOs) and hundreds of other wireless operators enabling better communications for end users in the communities we cover. A More Ambitious KPI Framework to Deliver on 5G Targets : To further drive the EUs digital transition and deliver on the connectivity targets (in particular, related to 5G) we believe that the Digital Decade Policy Programmes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should be expanded to cover the following: Permitting procedures should be monitored by introducing a dedicated indicator to measure the duration between permit application and permit granting. This would also support effective implementation of the Gigabit Infrastructure Act (GIA) which aims at facilitating the deployment of connectivity infrastructure by harmonizing and expediting permitting procedures. Access to public land and public buildings should be added to the list of indicators by monitoring the availability of sites for electronic communications infrastructure deployment. The deployment of wireless connectivity infrastructure also depends on using and leveraging public land and public buildings to meet the EUs 5G targets. Again, this would also support the effective implementation of the GIA which provides to facilitate access to public land and buildings to stimulate 5G roll-out. The 5G coverage related indicators currently measured by the percentage of populated areas covered by at least one 5G network regardless of the spectrum band used[1] as well as coverage in the 3.4-3.8 GHz band should be expanded to explicitly cover 5G standalone (5G SA), i.e., accounting for the use of mid-band frequencies and 5G radio equipment. The existing evidence produced by the European 5G Observatory[2] can be leveraged to close this gap and expand the set of 5G related indicators accordingly to more accurately reflect the progress towards 5G. Finally, we suggest creating a dedicated indicator to track deployment progress along main transport corridors. [1] COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2023/1353 of 30 June 2023. [2] https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/5g-observatory
Read full responseResponse to Digital Networks Act
11 Jul 2025
Please find attached EWIAs full contribution to the call for evidence and below a summary of this contribution. Out of the topics to be primarily addressed in the DNA according to the call for evidence, EWIA supports the objective of simplification and would like to share more detailed views on access regulation. No additional regulation is needed for a well-functioning and pro-competitive neutral host TowerCo market. The neutral host TowerCo sector is well-functioning and pro-competitive. The average number of wireless network operators hosted by neutral host TowerCos is 2.1, compared with only 1.3 for towers that are still operated by MNOs and MNO subsidiaries. This avoids unnecessary duplication of infrastructure, which in turn provides a series of economic and environmental benefits: - Sharing towers with multiple tenants reduces overall cost, resulting in projected economic savings of 31 billion euros across Europe between 2019 and 2029. - Divesting infrastructure assets to TowerCos brings MNOs upfront capital (amounting over 53 billion euros between 2019 and 2024), which they can reinvest in their networks to improve broadband coverage and accelerate 5G rollouts. - The open, neutral and sharing-driven TowerCo model will result in 109,000 fewer towers being built by 2030. - By enabling timely and cost-effective access to their sites, neutral host TowerCos facilitate market entry and promote infrastructure-based competition, which leads to more consumer choice. When it comes to access regulation, EWIA highlights that neutral host TowerCos operate a wholesale-only model and have every incentive to share their infrastructure. In response to the consultation, we would like to make the following comments: - SMP-based rules aim to open up markets by controlling prices when one player has significant market power, while the GIA uses equal rules for everyone, allowing companies, including TowerCos, to reach fair deals through commercial negotiations. - If SMP is not designated at EU level, which would de facto remove ex-ante regulation, this should follow from finding that effective competition has been achieved and that the existing symmetric and complementary rules are sufficient. No additional symmetric obligations should then be introduced to avoid any distortion due to unmerited over-regulation. - While EWIA members are subject to the GIA (and previously BCRD in some national transpositions), to the EECC and competition law, there is no evidence of market failure and no track record of regulatory intervention. To the contrary, access to neutral host TowerCos infrastructure is not restricted, as openness and infrastructure sharing are at the heart of the neutral host TowerCo model. Since the neutral host TowerCo sector is evidenced by numerous market entries, is well-functioning and provides a number of key benefits to the European economy and society, additional regulation of neutral host TowerCos is not warranted. EWIA recommendations on how the DNA can additionally facilitate infrastructure deployment and improve connectivity While the GIA is a good first step to address deployment challenges (permitting, access to land / buildings), more needs to be done as barriers to deployment persist in several areas, slowing down deployment. To maximize their positive contribution to Europes connectivity and competitiveness, EWIA members call on policymakers to encourage an investment-friendly environment which: - Protects from opportunistic and speculative behaviours regarding access to land. - Facilitates permitting procedures. - Facilitates access to energy solutions, including by ensuring that tower sites are prioritised in access to low voltage grid. - Increases transparency on emissions and site certificate data when required to expedite infrastructure deployment.
Read full responseMeeting with Peter Stuckmann (Head of Unit Communications Networks, Content and Technology)
25 Mar 2025 · Exchange on the evolution of the European tower sector and European Commission upcoming activities.