The IIC Europe Chapter is born

At the IIC Brussels Telecommunications and Media Forum (26 March 2019), attended by a distinguished audience and with the participation of the EU DG CNET, Deputy Director General, Claire Bury, we were glad and proud to announce the launch of the IIC Europe Chapter. The launch reception at the end of the first day of the event was kindly hosted by Squire Patton Boggs.

As we reflect upon its first 50 years, the IIC has always provided an important platform to compare and discuss policy approaches to communications and content in countries around the world. We wanted to go one step further and make good use of our national chapters to ‘compare notes’ and share perspectives, ideas and future-looking suggestions. The Europe Chapter is an initiative of the three IIC chapters based in Europe – Brussels, Italy and the UK – that will join forces and work together on one common theme of interest each year.

In practice, the Europe Chapter will take the form of three events – one in each country – on the same theme, each feeding into the next to share the perspective and particular dynamics of the country in which the event has taken place, and enrich further the thinking with input from the next country’s discussion, and so on. After the three events, we will report on the discussions, findings or conclusions at the annual TMF in Brussels.

For this first edition of the Europe Chapter initiative, we are focusing on the rollout of a major piece of implementation, the EU’s new telecom regulation known as the ‘European Electronic Communications Code’ which aims to bring in a new dynamic into competition and investment in networks, pave the way for innovations such as 5G, but also expand the scope of the telecom regulation to online communications. Some of these changes are major, and their implementation still poses a number of questions. Each of the countries in the EU will have unique realities and challenges that will make implementation complex – or more interesting. It is thus a great theme for us to start on, which should also be of interest and relevance to the broad range of IIC members across Europe, and beyond.

The plan is to hold the events as follows:

• Rome, 18-19 July 2019
• Brussels Chapter, September/October 2019
• London, December 2019

We hope many of you will join us and enjoy this initiative, which will extend and reinforce the chapter activities, maximize the value of the single events not only to a national audience but to a wider European one.