- A draft EU plan would grant radio spectrum usage rights “in principle” for an unlimited duration.
- EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen is expected to present the Digital Networks Act proposal on January 20.
- The draft also sketches “use-it-or-share-it or lose-it” safeguards and restates the EU’s net neutrality rules.
Europe’s telecom operators could soon get something they’ve wanted for years: radio spectrum rights that don’t expire. A draft of the European Commission’s upcoming Digital Networks Act says spectrum usage rights should “in principle” be granted for an unlimited duration, according to a document seen by Reuters. Reuters
This matters because spectrum is the airwaves mobile networks run on. If the “right to use” those airwaves stops coming with a ticking clock, it changes how operators plan big, long-term upgrades — from 5G densification to the next wave of network gear.
The Commission’s argument is pretty straightforward: longer (or indefinite) rights should improve investment predictability, help speed up network roll-outs, and ultimately lead to better services. The same draft also points to stability that could support spectrum trading and leasing, rather than leaving airwaves locked into one operator’s plans forever.
In plain English, that “secondary market” idea means operators could buy, sell, or rent spectrum to each other when demand shifts — and when technology shifts with it.
EU officials also seem aware of the obvious worry: if licenses never end, big players could sit on valuable spectrum and block rivals. That’s why the draft includes ideas like “use-it-or-share-it or lose-it” conditions and rollout obligations, while also expanding oversight tools for operators judged to have “significant market power” in closely related markets. It also reaffirms net neutrality — the rule that internet traffic should be treated equally — even as parts of the telecom industry keep pushing for looser constraints. TelecomLead
That “significant market power” language is regulatory shorthand for dominance. If a company is deemed powerful enough in one area, the draft suggests regulators could carry that designation into adjacent markets and attach extra obligations — think transparency, non-discrimination, and potentially tighter accounting and pricing requirements.
For telecom operators, the psychological change is almost as big as the legal one. If spectrum doesn’t come up for renewal the way other long-lived assets do, multi-year investment plans stop feeling like they’re racing the calendar.
It could also reshape how spectrum sharing works in practice. Trading and leasing only matter if the market actually takes off, but the draft is clearly trying to make “move spectrum to where it’s needed” a feature, not an afterthought.
There’s still a lot that’s not settled, though. This is a draft, and the Digital Networks Act still has to go through negotiations with EU countries and the European Parliament before anything becomes law, which means the “unlimited duration” concept could be narrowed, softened, or tied to tougher conditions. And even if it lands as written, the real test will be enforcement: “use-it-or-share-it” sounds great on paper, but it only works if regulators are willing to act when spectrum sits idle.
The next big date is January 20, when the Commission is expected to present the proposal — and the fight over what “unlimited” really means will likely start immediately after.
