BEREC WORKSHOP ON INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE CONNECTIVITY IN THE EU: THE MARKET PLAYERS' VIEWS ON INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE CONNECTIVITY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION (BEREC. Brussels. Online, 21 September 2023)

On 21st September 2023, BEREC held a virtual workshop focused on the issue of submarine connectivity in the EU, whose main points of discussion were how to boost competition and address the evolving market dynamics following the entry of new actors, the challenges faced in installing and operating submarine cables (including those related to cable resiliency, security and sustainability), the expectations regarding the evolution of the European and national regulatory framework, institutional organisation and public policies in this area.

The ecosystem of submarine cables has come under EU and national regulatory attention following the adoption of the Ministerial Declaration on European Data Gateways in 2021, as well as initiatives such as the EU Secure Communications Initiative and the CEF Digital Programme for 2021 to 2027; BEREC experts will continue working on this critical issue, and the findings of its work will be published between the end of 2023 and beginning of 2024.

<b>AGENDA</b>

Opening statement

Speaker: Annemarie Sipkes, BEREC Chair 2022 (ACM, Director of the Telecommunications, Transport and Postal Services Department)

Introduction by the European Commission

Moderator: Margarida Santos (Co-chair of BEREC Digital Markets Working Group)

Speaker: Georgios Tselentis, European Commission (Policy and Programme Officer at European Commission)

Evolution of the submarine cable international market and main challenges Moderator: Margarida Santos (Co-chair of BEREC Digital Markets Working Group)

Speaker: Ciarán Nevin, PwC Ireland (Senior Manager (Economist), Capital Projects and Infrastructure)

Panel 1 - Investments, competition and future trends: case studies

Moderator: Chiara Caccinelli (Co-chair of BEREC Digital Markets Working Group)

Speaker Gary Waterworth, Meta (Network Investments team)

Speaker Jean-Luc Vuillemin, Orange (Special technical advisor to the CEO on new technologies)

Speaker Norman Albi, Medusa (Chief Executive Officer)

Panel 2 - Presentations on the challenges faced in the installation of submarine cables and in authorisation related procedures in the European Unión

Moderator Filipe Prista Lucas (BEREC Regulatory Framework Working Group)

Speaker Jean-Jacques Sahel, Google

Speaker Agustín Gutiérrez, Telxius (Head of Wet Plant)

Panel 3 - Presentations on the challenges faced in the operation of submarine cables, including in what concerns access to stations and to terrestrial backhaul and resilience, security and sustainability

Moderator: Filipe Prista Lucas (BEREC Regulatory Framework Working Group)

Speaker Tomas Jakimavicius, Microsoft (Director of European Government Affairs)

Speaker Giuseppe Valentino, TI Sparkle (VP Product Management Backbone & Infrastructure Solutions)

Panel 4 - Expectations on future measures to promote international connectivity framework, the institutional organisation and public policy making

Moderator: Ervin Kajzinger (Co-chair BEREC Regulatory Framework Working Group)

Speaker Maarit Palovirta, ETNO (Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs)

Speaker David Abecassis, Partner at Analysys Mason

Closing statement

Speaker: Antonello De Tommaso (Co-chair BEREC Regulatory Framework Working Group)