Pandemic Exposes Europe’s Creaking Internet for All to See

Europe’s internet infrastructure is riddled with gaps and bottlenecks, exposed over the past seven months by surging hospital admissions to the rise of home working and explosion of e-commerce. Governments are now deciding how to intervene, after predicting the introduction of faster networks could lead to an annual benefit of 113 billion euros ($133 billion). Building more robust infrastructure would stimulate stricken economies and spur the growth of new industries. The UK risks losing 173 billion pounds ($223 billion) over the next decade if it falls behind on 5G, according to think tank the Centre for Policy Studies. The problem is, telecom companies aren’t ready to step up. Beset by low profitability and an exodus of investors, they’re struggling to fund even current rates of network investment, allowing southeast Asian nations and the US to pull ahead in the broadband speed race. So governments are starting to rethink whether consumers are best served by price wars and caps on investment returns that erode the profits companies need to invest in better services.