Verizon CEO Outlines Core Principles for a 21st Century Policy Agenda

The world is experiencing a golden age of innovation and this digital revolution has been enabled by the substantial communication network and infrastructure investments that are now — and will continue to be — the lifeblood of the global digital economy, Verizon CEO and Chairman Lowell McAdam said during his keynote speech at the Financial Times ETNO summit in Brussels this week.

McAdam was invited to the Summit to share his thoughts about the European Commission’ s digital policies, and why global digital players must continually fight for a 21st century regulatory agenda that prioritizes the consumer and promotes the capital investments needed to affect change.
“We’re all vested in this together which is why our collective ability to do what’s required to be part of this extraordinary digital revolution remains vital to the United States, vital to the European Union, and quite frankly, vital to the world,” McAdam said.

McAdam offered three key principles to inform a 21st century policy agenda:

1. A unified, harmonious market and regulatory regime. One of the European Commission’s top priorities is the creation of a single European digital market for consumers and businesses that will create a true level playing field for competitors, provide consumers with greater choices, and modernize and simplify regulations for all stakeholders.
2. A light-touch regulatory approach. Absent heavy regulation, today’s digital economy will grow in an environment where investment is rewarded and companies will seek out innovative solutions to meet consumer demands.
3. A framework that empowers consumers and purposefully promotes technology and platform competition. The U.S. approach to technology deployment has been to embrace and foster competition among all of the different players — removing barriers to entry to encourage us to stretch into each other’s markets.

Read “A Connected Future – The Opportunities and Challenges Ahead” for a full transcription of McAdam’s keynote speech.