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Media Partnership - Digital Networks Act: Rewriting the DNA of Europe’s Open Internet?

16-10-2025

Media Partnership - Digital Networks Act: Rewriting the DNA of Europe’s Open Internet?

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The European Commission’s upcoming Digital Networks Act (DNA) is set to reshape the future of connectivity in Europe. By overhauling the rules that govern telecom operators, cloud services, and content providers, the DNA raises fundamental questions about fairness, competition, innovation, and the very architecture of our open internet.

Join this hybrid event to examine the risks and opportunities, and jointly debate what kind of DNA will truly serve Europeans in the years ahead.

Panel 1 – An Uneven Playing Field for Connectivity: Myth or Reality?



Central question: Should rules originally designed to regulate telecom operators be extended to the wider tech sector?

In its white paper on how to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs and recent DNA call for evidence, the European Commission asserts there is increasing convergence between telecoms and the tech sector (particularly cloud and content providers). Telecom providers, for their part, build on this assumption to advance claims that the regulatory framework therefore should converge as well.

This panel will unpack the structural and functional differences between the two sectors, while also examining the collaborative dynamics that underpin their relationships. We will walk through the patchwork of existing EU frameworks to answer one question: is extending the EECC to digital actors necessary, fair, or even workable?


Panel 2 – How Does the DNA Risk Threatening the Open Internet?



Central question: What concrete risks does the Digital Networks Act pose to the open internet?

This panel will examine the reality of collaboration between telecoms and tech, and assess dangerous proposals that keep resurfacing – in the DNA call for evidence and earlier public consultations, for example.

A central theme will be how any form of dispute resolution for IP interconnection would evolve into network fees – and how such measures would fundamentally reshape the way the internet functions today. Experts with first-hand experience will share their insights, underscoring the real-world stakes for competition, innovation, and end users.


Panel 3 – How Can the Digital Networks Act Truly Deliver for Europeans?



Central question: How can we ensure that the DNA becomes a tool that delivers best-in-class connectivity and fosters competition?

To that end, this panel will cut through perception to examine the realities: the financial health of telecom companies, the state of network roll-out, as well as the dynamics between tech and telcos.

The discussion will unpack persistent arguments driving the DNA debate (investment gaps, traffic growth, AI’s impact) and the telecom sector’s push for consolidation. Most importantly, the panel will consider what legislative design choices could make the DNA genuinely effective for European consumers, businesses, and innovators.


Organised by: The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA Europe)
Media Partner: Euractiv


REGISTER HERE


Location

Hybrid
Brussels Network Office - International Press Centre
1 Bd Charlemagne // 2nd floor

Panellists

To be announced soon.

Moderator

Euractiv

Schedule

08:30 - 09:15 Welcome coffee and registrations
09:15 - 09:30 Keynote address / opening remarks
09:30 - 10:30 Panel 1 – An Uneven Playing Field for Connectivity: Myth or Reality?
10:30 - 11:30 Panel 2 – How Does the DNA Risk Threatening the Open Internet?
11:30 - 11:45 Coffee break
11:45 - 12:45 Panel 3 – How Can the Digital Networks Act Truly Deliver for Europeans?
12:45 - 13:00 Closing remarks
13:00 Networking lunch

Contact

Ana Alexandrescu
ana.alexandrescu@euractiv.com