Fundación Telefónica: “Europe must take advantage of the next technological wave”.

“Digital society in the world continues to advancealthough at a slower pace than at the height of the pandemic. In 2022, almost two-thirds (66.3%) of the world’s population were Internet users. This percentage is 3.7 points higher than in 2021 (62.6%). In absolute terms, there were more than 5.28 billion people using the Internet.338 million more than in 2021,” the Foundation explains.

From the institution they point out that. digitalization is an “unstoppable global phenomenon” that the Old Continent must take advantage of.. “Europe missed the first technological wave, but it must take advantage of the next one and, in turn, develop its own digital capabilities,” they assert, while stressing that. the EU has the opportunity to “become a technological superpower in its own right.to define its strategic autonomy in a new world and, moreover, to exercise its regulatory power to shape the international environment on digital issues”.

In this regard, Fundación Telefónica highlights the approval of “two fundamental rules” such as the. Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA)which will begin to be implemented in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Likewise, from the institution they emphasize that the debate on the fair contribution to the sustainability of the network “it is not a debate of EU operators against the big US content platforms”, but a “global” debate that “started in Asia and spread to the US and Europe” to sustain network investment and deployment.

According to data from Fundación Telefónica, while telecommunications revenues decline, internet traffic grows 35% annually. and more than 50% in the case of mobile data. In addition, more than half of the total internet traffic is generated by just six major digital platforms.

This, they say, demonstrates that the telecommunications sector is facing “increasing challenges”. to keep pace with investment and the sustainability of the EU’s digital ecosystem, which depends on it.

“That is why it is urgent to develop a regulatory proposal in the face of the changes brought about by the acceleration of digitizationboth at European and Spanish level. It is a matter of creating a new legal framework that is adequate and adapted to the new developments and infrastructures. New rules of the game are needed in these new times”, they state.

SPAIN, SPEARHEADING THE WAY

In this regard, they point out, Spain “is making good progress” in its digital transformation process. and is “undisputed leader” in terms of connectivity. The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) prepared annually by the European Commission places the country in 2022 at number seven in the list of Member States, two places higher than in 2021. It is only surpassed in this area by Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland and Malta.

In addition, they point out, the Old Continent has experienced a “remarkable progress” in fiberwith a coverage of 70.2% in the EU as a whole. Spain is in fourth position with a coverage of 93.8%, surpassed only by Malta, Luxembourg and Denmark.

On the other hand, the heavy investments in 5G in our country. are evident in the significant increase in coverage experienced in 2022. In the European Union, this has increased from 13.9% of households in 2021 to 65.8% in 2022. In Spain, Telefónica closed 2022 with a total of 1,719 municipalities with 5G.which represents a coverage of more than 83% of the population.

LEVERS OF DIGITIZATION

On the other hand, Fundación Telefónica considers. three factors as drivers of digitalization.: the innovation in educationthe digital talent of the workforceand a secure internet free from cyber threats and content that manipulates public opinion.

First of all, the institution considers believes that education systems must evolve “at the same pace” as the economy and society.. To this end, they point out, schools “have made a notable effort and must continue to do so” to “equip themselves with technology and modernize pedagogical activity, especially in the use of the most advanced network services – those based on the cloud or virtual learning environments – where penetration is relatively low and there is still a long way to go”.

Likewise, the Foundation recognizes that the demand for technological profiles and new technological skills in non-digital profiles continues to grow. However, they warn that one of the points of improvement in digital jobs remains the gender gap.The number of female graduates in STEM disciplines per 1,000 individuals is 12 and there are only 1.7% of female ICT specialists in total employment compared to 6.2% of men. In addition, there is a gender pay gap of 9%, down from 12% in the previous report.

Finally, the institution calls for. Strengthening trust and security on the Internet.two key elements to ensure a harmonious growth of digital life”. In this sense, more than half of Spanish citizens say they trust the Internet quite a lot. On the other hand, Spain is one of the countries most concerned about disinformation.62% of the population, second only to Portugal.

“Also of concern is the growth of threats for organizations based on ransomware, and of malware affecting personal devices, which adds to the lack of cybersecurity specialists. The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) noted that, between July 2021 and July 2022, ransomware and malware have continued to top the list of cyberattacks,” they sentence.

Finally, Fundación Telefónica stresses that. “leaps forward” are being made to “lay the foundations of the digital world”. in sectors as varied as Web3, artificial intelligence, industrial 4.0 or blockchain.