European Commission Publishes Proposal for a Regulation for the Digital Networks Act

On January 21, 2026, the European Commission published its Proposal for a Regulation for the DNA. Key provisions relevant to telecom operators and connectivity providers are summarized below:

• Faster pan-EU market entry: According to article 10.1 of the draft DNA, "under the general authorization regime, where a provider intends to provide electronic communications networks or services in one or several Member States, it shall submit a notification to the national regulatory authority of one of those Member States under the Single Passport procedure." However, providers will still remain subject to national enforcement in all Member States where they provide their electronic communications networks and/or services.
• Spectrum and numbering reset: The DNA builds a more centralized EU approach to spectrum and numbering. It introduces EU‑wide instruments—such as a single‑market spectrum procedure, harmonized authorization conditions, one‑stop‑shop processes for spectrum requests, and creates EU‑level authorizations—alongside a dedicated regime for satellite networks and services. It creates EU‑level authorizations for satellite spectrum, strengthens coordination mechanisms for International Telecommunication Union filings, and ensures the coexistence of satellite and terrestrial spectrum allocations across the EU.
• Copper-switch-off: The DNA orders mandatory national transition plan to ensure the phase out of copper networks and the transition to fiber networks by 2035. Member States must present their "national transition to fiber plans" to the Commission by 31 October 2029. The process is accompanied by safeguards to protect consumers, such as providing clear and timely information about switch-offs and ensuring service continuity.
• Telcos vs. large content providers: While the draft avoids any sort of mandatory "network fee," it introduces a voluntary conciliation procedure for interconnection issues. This allows telcos (business operators) and large content/cloud providers to resolve disputes about traffic efficiency and infrastructure costs through a harmonized EU-level system. In addition, the proposal sets up an EU/BEREC-shaped cooperation framework, including the obligation for BEREC to publish guidelines on technical/commercial matters affecting the efficient provision of electronic communications services, and a "facility for voluntary conciliation" offered by NRAs with a BEREC opinion within two months. This could become the structured forum for interconnection/traffic-related discussions and a key area to watch for litigation and regulatory risk.
• Open internet: The DNA preserves "open internet access" through the keeping of end‑user rights to "access and distribute information and content, use and provide applications and services, and use terminal equipment of their choice, irrespective of the end-user's or provider's location or the location, origin or destination of the information, content, application or service, via their internet access service," according to article 93.1 of the draft DNA. Internet access service will need to report every two years regarding the measures taken to safeguard net neutrality.
• Universal services: The DNA recalibrates the universal service regime, seeking to ensure baseline access to fixed‑location internet and voice services. It establishes common EU procedures for defining "adequate" connectivity by reference to the minimum bandwidth enjoyed by most consumers, with BEREC guidance to align national approaches.
• Resilience and crisis preparedness: The DNA recognizes electronic communications networks/services and other digital infrastructures as essential infrastructures and requires BEREC to adopt a "Union Preparedness Plan for Digital Infrastructures," including assessment, operational recommendations, and crisis‑management practices. Aligning with NIS2 and the revised Cybersecurity Act (CSA 2.0), the DNA would also integrate harmonized supply chain security requirements into the general authorization regime for electronic communications providers.
• Governance: The DNA consolidates EU‑level governance by strengthening BEREC and the Radio Spectrum Policy Body ("RSPB") and by establishing the Office for Digital Networks (replacing the BEREC Office). The RSPB is given a more strategic role in radio spectrum policy, cross‑border coordination, and international engagement, operating in close cooperation with BEREC where spectrum and regulatory issues intersect.
• Safeguards for Consumer Operators (B2C): The DNA largely carries over the existing "End-User Rights" from the EECC to protect consumers (standardized information requirements for contracts, information publication requirements, contract duration and termination, bundle offers, etc).
• Ex ante regulation: The Significant Market Power regime remains in place, leaving the ability of national regulatory authorities to impose wholesale access regulation based on the three-criteria test for identifying markets needing regulation. Functional and voluntary separation provisions have been removed but an EU-harmonized wholesale access product is introduced as a default access remedy.

In short, the DNA aims to tackle regulatory fragmentation by adopting a more harmonized, directly applicable single‑market framework across authorization, spectrum, satellite, numbering, market regulation, and end‑user protection, backed by EU‑level coordination and governance.

In this respect, the decision to rely on a regulation rather than a directive is a deliberate and strategic choice by the Commission, which mirrors the ones made to regulate other aspects of the digital economy like AI or digital platforms. The Commission considers that the directive-based architecture of the EECC has resulted in implementation delays and regulatory divergences across Member States. In an environment characterized by increasingly rapid technology cycles, this approach is no longer considered fit for purpose by the Commission.