The EU Digital Networks Act unpacked

Quick answer. The European Commission’s proposed Digital Networks Act would replace the 2018 Electronic Communications Code with a directly applicable Regulation, consolidating spectrum, access and infrastructure rules across the EU.

The European Commission has published its proposal for a Digital Networks Act (DNA), the most substantial reform of EU telecoms regulation in over a decade. Released on 21 January 2026, the proposal would repeal the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) and replace it with a directly applicable Regulation. The aim: reduce regulatory fragmentation, simplify compliance and create an investment-friendly framework for digital connectivity across the EU.

For telecoms providers, infrastructure operators and investors, the DNA is first and foremost a regulatory reform. It goes to the heart of how electronic communications networks and services are authorised, regulated and supervised in the EU.

Why the Digital Networks Act matters for telecoms regulation

The Commission starts from the position that the current framework no longer delivers a single market for telecoms. The EECC was designed to modernise EU telecoms law, but national transposition has produced divergent rules, inconsistent regulatory practice and administrative overhead for operators active in more than one Member State. That fragmentation affects core issues: authorisation and notification, access obligations, regulatory remedies and the scope of national discretion.

The DNA reflects a broader EU policy shift from minimum-harmonisation directives towards directly applicable regulations, with the explicit intention of constraining national divergence. The proposal also ties into wider policy objectives, including the EU’s Digital Decade targets, large-scale fibre and 5G deployment, and the growing importance of cross-border and non-terrestrial networks.

From directive to regulation: the end of the EECC

The most important legal change is structural. The DNA would repeal the EECC entirely and replace it with a Regulation. Instead of transposition into national law, the core regulatory rules governing electronic communications networks and services would apply directly and uniformly across all Member States: general authorisation, regulatory obligations, access and interconnection, consumer protection and regulatory oversight.

For national regulators, this is a clear recalibration of regulatory autonomy. Enforcement remains largely national, but the scope for divergent implementation shrinks materially.

A single EU authorisation and notification regime

A central feature of the DNA is a single EU notification regime. Providers of public electronic communications networks and services would submit one notification in a single Member State to operate across the EU, rather than making parallel notifications to each national regulator. BEREC would develop a harmonised notification template, and Member States could not impose additional notification or administrative requirements. This directly targets one of the longest-standing practical burdens of the current regime.

The general authorisation scope remains broadly aligned with the EECC, but the proposal explicitly integrates compliance with EU-level cybersecurity obligations into the authorisation framework.

Satellite and non-terrestrial networks

The DNA introduces a dedicated EU-level authorisation regime for satellite connectivity services. The existing telecoms framework was built primarily around national, terrestrial networks and is no longer well suited to satellite and hybrid network models. The proposal aims to facilitate cross-border provision and regulatory consistency for satellite operators, including new direct-to-device services.

Access, interconnection and regulatory remedies

The DNA revisits the access and interconnection regime. The competition-based framework is retained, but the proposal places greater emphasis on commercial negotiation, co-investment models and risk-sharing arrangements, particularly for very high-capacity networks. National regulatory authorities would continue to impose access obligations where justified, but within a more prescriptive EU framework. The policy intent is to narrow divergence in remedies and market analysis outcomes across Member States, while recalibrating regulation to support long-term infrastructure investment.

Consumer protection within a harmonised framework

End-user protection remains integral. The proposal consolidates and simplifies existing rules on transparency, contract terms and switching, updating them for digital-first services and bundled offerings. The focus is on maintaining substantive protection while reducing complexity and inconsistent national interpretation.

Regulatory governance and BEREC

The DNA strengthens BEREC’s role in promoting consistent regulatory outcomes. This includes a greater role in developing binding templates and supporting coordination between national regulators. National regulatory authorities retain responsibility for supervision and enforcement, but the governance model is more centralised than under the EECC.

Impact assessment and next steps

The Commission has published a detailed impact assessment alongside the proposal, analysing policy options and expected effects on competition, investment and regulatory efficiency. The preferred option is full replacement of the EECC with a Regulation combined with enhanced EU-level coordination.

The proposal now enters the ordinary legislative procedure. Amendments should be expected during scrutiny by the European Parliament and the Council, particularly on the balance between EU harmonisation and national regulatory discretion.

Increasing EU divergence from the UK

The DNA would also widen the regulatory gap between the EU and the UK. Since Brexit, UK telecoms regulation has remained structurally anchored in the EECC as retained and amended in domestic law, with Ofcom exercising a high degree of national discretion. The DNA represents a decisive move towards a centralised EU telecoms rulebook, with tighter constraints on national implementation and a strengthened coordinating role for BEREC.

If adopted, the UK would be operating a directive-based, nationally mediated framework alongside an EU regime built around a single regulation. For operators active in both markets, this divergence will be practical, not theoretical. Differences in authorisation, remedies, access obligations and governance structures will need to be managed in parallel.

The DNA underlines that UK and EU telecoms regulation are now on separate trajectories, even where policy objectives continue to overlap. This divergence sharpens the importance of understanding how Ofcom’s evolving approach to competition, investment and network regulation differs from the more centralised model developing under the DNA.

Viewpoint

To my mind, the Digital Networks Act is a decisive move away from nationally mediated EU telecoms law towards a single, directly applicable regulatory framework. If adopted in its current form, it would materially change how telecoms providers are authorised, regulated and supervised across the EU, with reduced national divergence and stronger emphasis on regulatory consistency and investment support.

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For advice on how the EU Digital Networks Act affects your UK telecoms business, see our Telecoms and Payments Perimeter, Authorisation and Market Entry service.