* Pandemic showing how investing in networks is key
-Vodafone
* Industry looking to roll out 5G network
* Fewer players in U.S. than in Europe
(Recasts to include Vodafone CEO, adds quotes by Telenor CEO,
context, bullet points, changes slug)
By Victoria Klesty and Paul Sandle
OSLO/LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Britain's Vodafone
and Norway's Telenor urged policymakers on Wednesday to
allow European mobile operators to merge and spend more on
networks to keep pace with peers in the United States and Asia.
European telecoms companies face a bill of up to 300 billion
euros ($340 billion) to roll out super fast 5G across the
continent, a task made harder by regulators demanding multiple
operators compete in each market to keep consumer bills low.
Vodafone CEO Nick Read said COVID-19, and the need for
reliable, fast networks, had focused the minds of regulators,
who had realised the value of investment during the pandemic.
"COVID has really opened the eyes of policymakers to say
'Have we got this right?'," Read told reporters after Vodafone
published quarterly results.
"And I argue there needs to be a new balance (...) Of course
we want competition. But at the same time, we need to encourage
investment in next generation infrastructure to remain globally
competitive."
While there are three main telecom players in the United
States - AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile -
there are around a hundred in Europe.
Telenor CEO Sigve Brekke agreed.
"The European Commission needs to adopt a different view
here, which allows for consolidation in the European context, or
we will become more and more marginalised compared to other
parts of the world," he told Reuters after Telenor posted
below-forecast fourth-quarter earnings.
Telenor has 172 million subscribers across Asia and the
Nordic countries. From his company's perspective, consolidation
was particularly necessary in fragmented markets in Denmark and
Sweden, Brekke said.
"Especially in Denmark, the state of competition isn't
sustainable, and it needs to be consolidated. We have tried it
before but weren't allowed to," he said.
Vodafone was pursuing mergers with rivals in multiple
European markets, Read said, listing Spain, Italy, Portugal and
Britain.
"We are active on a number of fronts and we are seeing good
engagement from our counterparties which confirms that we have a
series of potential opportunities to shape the business with
stronger assets in healthier markets," he said.
($1 = 0.8834 euros)
(Writing by Gwladys Fouche in Paris
Editing by Mark Potter)
Vodafone (VOD)