Telefonica’s chief executive officer Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete has reiterated his call for a new regulatory framework and competition rules to build a strong digital Europe. In a speech given on the opening day of MWC 2021 during a session organised by the GSMA, the executive said governments must act decisively to take advantage of an extraordinary opportunity. "To grab it, Europe needs a sustainable telco sector, otherwise we will lag further behind in the global race for digital leadership,” he said.
In further detailing his approach, Alvarez-Pallete defined cutting-edge connectivity as the first ingredient of the new smart digitisation, followed by technologies such Edge Computing, Cloud, Cybersecurity, IoT and Big Data as well as the final key ingredient of Artificial Intelligence. "The real evolution lies there," he said, adding that “as much as 40 percent of internet traffic is non-human, generated by machines that are talking to each other”. The AI-led transformation of this data into information represents "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reimagine the future,” according to the executive.
He also emphasised the need to combine the potential of digitisation and connectivity with values by means of a new Digital Deal that ensures equality and people remain at the core of the digital transition. "It is our collective responsibility to future generations to spread the benefits of digitisation and make sure that we do not leave anyone behind,” he said.
