Toward Anticipatory Regulation and Beyond

The emergence of the 6G ecosystem is another tipping point for policy and regulatory orthodoxy. Against the backdrop of the US offering overall the best conditions for innovation, policymakers in Europe must recognize the need to change their analytical and planning structures. Telecom regulators need to break out of their sectoral silos. Fortunately, many are ready to do so, and 6G provides the opportunity. 5G, and even more so 6G, IoT, cloudification, edge computing, etc., are gamechangers, and digital platforms have taken over a growing share of interpersonal communications, while most traditional telecom companies have been reduced to providing connectivity. We are therefore right to ask ourselves what we want to regulate and, above all, why. Are we regulating in the right place? By what means? In this chapter, we analyze regulatory developments in Europe, North America, and Asia and draw conclusions on how Europe's competitiveness and innovative strength can be improved with better interlinking of industrial policy, innovation, and regulation.