The report looks to cloud to boost growth, but Microsoft warns cloud market is paused
ETNO has published a study on the probable effects on the telco sector of the European Union’s new Data Act which was adopted by the Commission in February 2022. The European Telecommunications Network Operators’ (ETNO) Association represents many of Europe’s telecom operators.
The proposed Act is intended to complement the EU’s Data Governance Regulation proposed in November 2020, the first deliverable of the European strategy for data. While the Data Governance Regulation creates the processes and structures to facilitate data, the Data Act clarifies who can create value from data and under which conditions. The relationship between the two is explained in considerable detail here.
The report says once enacted, by 2028 the legislation will “unlock a series of major socio-economic benefits”. They include the creation of 2.2 million new jobs which will boost gross domestic product (GDP) in the 27 EU member states by a 1.98%.
ETNO also said the Data Act will help create more competitive cloud markets. Operators and digital service providers both provide and use cloud computing and edge services.
Forecasts indicate European enterprises will have spent some €4 billion within Europe on public edge computing services by the end of this year. The research reckons that in time, telcos will benefit from a more competitive and dynamic cloud market thanks to users being able to switch more easily between providers.
Pause in the cloud
It could be that these predictions are optimistic due to a slowdown in the cloud market. Yesterday Microsoft’s shares fell 7% after it warned of that the cloud market was slowing as large enterprises pause their spending due to the macroeconomic conditions.
Microsoft said it expected Azure’s business to slow by 5% this quarter – it grew at 42% to the end of September, 1% below analysts’ expectations. The decline in growth appears to be accelerating as the rate at the end of September was 4% less than at the conclusion of the preceding quarter.
Compromises
Furthermore, it is not all over bar the shouting with the terms of Data Act being agreed. According to Euractiv, the Czech Presidency of the European Council has circulated compromises on the first five chapters of the proposed new data law which it hopes to cement by the end of its presidency in December.
They include the scope of the law, sharing of data from IoT devices and dispute resolution for when the product manufacturer and users disagree on terms, public access to data and obliging device makers to install interfaces on connected devices that allow the easy export of data from them within a year of the Data Act becoming law.
Public access looks likely to be the most troublesome: The scope of the provisions that empower public bodies to request access to privately-held data has been restricted for the EU institutions to the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and EU agencies.
These public institutions can request access to private data in exceptional circumstances, including when the lack of such data prevents them from carrying out a specific task in the public interest. The national authorities responsible for enforcing the Data Act have been excluded from the scope to avoid a conflict of interest. That might not play well some or even any national governments.
These specific requests can only concern personal data if there is a legal basis at the EU or national level and the data-sharing provisions do not affect existing legal obligations to provide data for official statistics and cannot be used to investigate criminal or administrative offences.
The EU has already published a report on privately held data and how it should be used more and better