Brussels, 22/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - ECTA (the group that defend the interests of new operators) and the INTUG, the international organisation that brings together telecommunication service end users, presented a new study on the digital market situation on 22 January. This analysis was carried out by WIK Consult and highlights market fragmentation and significant economic losses caused by this situation (€100 billion according to its estimates). Many corporate customers deplore regulatory fragmentation on digital services and products, which seriously impacts their ability to use seamless cross-border services. In conclusion, the study recommends that regulatory pressure by the European Union is stepped up, “in order to tap the full potential of the Digital Single Market for businesses and productivity”. Tom Ruhan, ECTA President, has always defended a strict regulatory framework for the Digital Market as a means of counterbalancing the advantages of traditional market operators. He stated that “Europe is missing significant economic opportunities. Multinational businesses are responsible for 60 million jobs and half of the value of the whole EU economy. EU institutions bear the responsibility to do everything they can to foster their productivity”. Danielle Jacobs, the president of the INTUG, said that “it is a pity that many businesses see that only a very limited number of service providers can present solutions combining true global connectivity with the required technical specifications due to a lack of competition at the national level. This situation leads to vendor lock-in, and offers too little choice and flexibility to build the best solution”. (IL/transl.fl)