AT&T’s European Ambitions Include Regulatory Wish List

AT&T sees new wireless technology in Europe stimulating a slumping industry with billions of dollars in network upgrades and blazing-fast mobile service, with a caveat: Some rules need to be changed.

In a glimpse of its still-forming European strategy, AT&T, the largest US carrier, provided a wish list on what it would like to see from regulators to make an investment there worthwhile. During a visit to Europe, Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson called for consistent policies across different countries and for airwave licenses that offer more attractive terms for wireless companies. “How you manage spectrum policy will determine how much investment comes to Europe,” Stephenson said at the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association summit in Brussels. Stephenson said companies like AT&T need assurances that public policy can be conducive to investment in European networks, which need upgrades to long-term evolution, or LTE, technology. At the top of Stephenson’s wish list is an overhaul of rules governing spectrum. AT&T is looking for changes to airwave ownership rules that give carriers the ability to control broad areas of territory over long periods of time so that there is incentive to build for the future. Stephenson also said Europe needs a market where operators can swap spectrum, letting them assemble pieces of their network to become more efficient. And he called for regulators to stop designating specific technology, such as 3G data, for certain airwave licenses, giving companies more flexibility to use the spectrum as they see fit.