The Digital Networks Act: Rebuilding Europe’s Connectivity Architecture for the AI Era

On 21 January 2026, the European Commission presented the Digital Networks Act (DNA), a proposal designed to correct a structural failure: the fragmentation of Europe’s digital connectivity across 27 national markets (European Commission, 2026a). Introduced by Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, the proposal reflects a broader policy shift in which connectivity is reclassified from a regulated utility to foundational economic and strategic infrastructure (European Commission, 2026b).

Despite decades of liberalisation, Europe’s telecommunications sector continues to operate under divergent national authorisation regimes and fragmented spectrum governance. This fragmentation directly suppresses cross-border scale and long-term infrastructure investment, slowing the deployment of high-capacity networks relative to global peers (European Commission, 2024). The DNA responds by replacing the 2018 European Electronic Communications Code with a single, directly applicable regulation, because regulatory fragmentation is itself the binding constraint on infrastructure scale (Bird & Bird, 2026).

Historical precedent shows that EU-wide regulatory harmonisation is a prerequisite for unlocking private infrastructure investment, as demonstrated in energy and aviation markets. In telecommunications, the absence of comparable harmonisation has produced chronic underinvestment. The DNA targets this failure by aligning regulation with the economic drivers of infrastructure capital: certainty, scale, and asset longevity (European Commission, 2024; European Commission, 2026a).

At the core of the proposal is the creation of a Single Market for connectivity through a Single Passport authorisation system. Pan-European scale is treated not as an outcome, but as a precondition for sustainable competition and capital deployment (European Commission, 2026b). Satellite communications are brought under EU-level authorisation because sovereignty, resilience, and strategic autonomy cannot be secured through national licensing regimes (European Commission, 2026c).

The DNA reforms spectrum policy to restore investment predictability. Long-duration spectrum licences are used as a lever to realign regulatory timelines with infrastructure investment cycles, supporting advanced technologies such as 5G evolution and future 6G networks (Bird & Bird, 2026; European Commission, 2026b).

A central structural intervention is the binding roadmap for copper switch-off. Legacy copper networks are identified as incompatible with Europe’s future connectivity requirements, and their continued operation delays fibre deployment (European Commission, 2026a). Mandatory national transition plans and a 2035 fibre target remove regulatory ambiguity and force coordinated capital reallocation toward full-fibre networks (Bird & Bird, 2026).

On platform–network relations, the Commission rejects mandatory “fair share” contributions. The policy choice reflects a trade-off: avoiding market distortion in exchange for voluntary dispute resolution mechanisms (European Commission, 2026a). The proposed conciliation framework addresses interconnection conflicts because legal uncertainty, not traffic economics, is the primary friction affecting network efficiency (European Commission, 2026b).

Security considerations are embedded across the Act. Digital networks are treated as critical infrastructure exposed to systemic risk, justifying an EU-level Preparedness Plan and mandatory cooperation among infrastructure providers (European Commission, 2026a). Linking telecom authorisation to cybersecurity obligations closes a governance gap between connectivity and critical-infrastructure protection (European Commission, 2026c).

Finally, the DNA extends beyond networks to the digital ecosystem. Clarifying Open Internet rules for network slicing is positioned as a necessary condition for AI-, cloud-, and industry-grade applications, ensuring that networks enable rather than constrain innovation (European Commission, 2026b; European Commission, 2026c).

Taken together, the Digital Networks Act is not a technical reform but a structural intervention designed to realign regulation, investment, and security around continental-scale digital infrastructure. Its success hinges on legislative adoption by 2027, after which Europe’s connectivity policy would shift from managing fragmentation to engineering scale, resilience, and competitiveness in an AI-driven economy (Bird & Bird, 2026; European Commission, 2026a).

References

Bird & Bird. (2026, January 22). The Digital Networks Act — Reform of the EU’s telecoms regime. https://www.twobirds.com/en/insights/2026/the-digital-networks-act-%E2%80%93-reform-of-the-eu%E2%80%99s-telecoms-regime

European Commission. (2024). White paper: How to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs? https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/white-paper-how-master-europes-digital-infrastructure-needs

European Commission. (2025). Call for evidence: Digital Networks Act. https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14106-Digital-Networks-Act_en

European Commission. (2026a, January 21). EU supports digital connectivity with simpler and harmonised rules in the Digital Networks Act (Press release IP/26/107). https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_107

European Commission. (2026b, January 21). Remarks by Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen on the Digital Networks Act. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner

European Commission. (2026c). The Digital Networks Act. EU Digital Strategy. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/digital-networks-act

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