21 October, 2021

ETNO holds virtual General Assembly, approves Strategy and Governance for 2022

“A new phase for our sector: we are now a strategic partner for EU institutions and governments”

Brussels, 21 October 2021 – ETNO, the Association representing Europe’s leading telecom operators, has successfully completed its General Assembly, which took place virtually today.

The decisions of the General Assembly are as follows:

• Executive Board positions are subject to a 3-year mandate. The composition of the Board remains stable also for 2022 and the following companies, whose mandate will expire at the end of this year, were reconfirmed in the Board: British Telecom (Daniel Wilson), Orange (Pascal Rogard), KPN (Jos Huigen), Telenor (Krisztina Baracsi). Therefore, there are no changes to the companies who are part of the Board. Steven Tas (Proximus) has been reconfirmed as Executive Board Chair.
• ETNO’s Strategy for 2022was approved and it is based on the following 4 strategic drivers:
  • Recovery and growth – with focus on network investment, faster roll-out of digital networks, efficient telecom markets, enabling vertical industries;
  • Sustainability – with focus on telco net zero and circularity, rural connectivity, social inclusion, digital skills, privacy and security;
  • EU leadership – with focus on European digital services, EU data economy, future network innovations (edge cloud, Open-RAN), fair digital competition, EU-US dialogue;
  • Value for members – with focus on championing ETNO members, fast-delivery from the ETNO team, lean and transparent procedures, high-value-added initiatives.
• Budget and Team 2022: the General Assembly approved a stable budget for 2022, which will allow for investment in high-value-added activities. The ETNO Team is further reinforced, with 10 team members lead by the Director General.

Lise Fuhr, ETNO Director General, said: “It is a new phase for Europe’s telecom sector: the sector can offer highly relevant solutions to many of today’s societal challenges. From inclusion to net zero, from growth to digital sovereignty, telecom companies are now a strategic partner for both European institutions and National governments”.