Europe.
Somewhat overdue, the EU has mooted plans for a Europe-wide single digital framework.
Breaking down the borders between member states, and abolishing data roaming is thought to bring nearly €500bn in additional GDP.
It’s likely to be delivered as regulations with some element of compliance but there are some major challenges to address. For digital services to be truly border-free we’ll need to crack copyright and licensing pretty quickly.
The plans could mean that services such as iPlayer, Netflix, Amazon Prime, will be accessible across all EU territories and the cost of calling be included in standard plans.
The EU commission says one of their aims is for people to enjoy “the same online content and services regardless of the EU country they’re in”.
In Britain, we may not universally love what comes out of Brussels but this initiative makes a lot of sense. No doubt it will take years, and may yet get sunk by Nigel Farage et al but we live in hope.
