Vodafone urges EU to unify telecoms rules in April 2025

Vodafone Group said in April 2025 that fragmented telecoms regulation across the European Union is undermining the bloc's single market goals. Joakim Reiter, Vodafone's chief external and corporate affairs officer, argued in an article for Politico that differing national telecoms rules are holding back investment and could damage the region's economic ambitions.

Reiter linked Vodafone's criticism to the European Council's One Europe, One Market commitment made last month, which focused on competitiveness, simpler rules, lower administration, energy, industrial renewal, and investment. He said telecoms was overlooked in that agenda and called on the Digital Networks Act, unveiled in January, to foster innovation, reduce business costs, and deliver what he described as a real single market, with investment clarity for communications infrastructure including standalone 5G.

Vodafone's position fits a wider campaign by European operators for regulatory change in the region. At MWC26 Barcelona, Deutsche Telekom chief Timotheus Hoettges and Telefonica executive chair Marc Murtra also warned that the current regulatory structure could hinder European sovereignty goals, while operators have separately disputed issues including payments from large content companies and telecom market consolidation.