The publication of the Digital Networks Act (DNA) on 21 January 2026 was widely presented as a turning point for the European telecommunications sector. Much of the debate that followed, however, was shaped more by the weight of accumulated expectations than by an analysis of its actual provisions.

Those expectations did not emerge in a vacuum. Over the past decade, the European telecommunications sector has been perceived as structurally under pressure: low returns on capital, high investment requirements, fragmented national markets and an increasingly marginal position in the global digital value chain reinforced the conviction that a deep overhaul of the regulatory framework was needed. The DNA thus became the symbolic vehicle for ambitions that exceeded the reach of any sector-specific legislative instrument.

A Regulation can harmonise rules, clarify obligations and reduce fragmentation arising from divergent national transpositions. What it cannot do, at least not directly, is reshape global technological power balances, redefine competition policy, or single-handedly alter the industrial structure of the sector.

This paper therefore advances a different reading: the relevance of the DNA lies not in delivering systemic transformation, but in clarifying the regulatory foundations upon which such transformation might be built. An urgency underscored by the Letta Report Much More Than a Market, which identifies telecommunications — alongside energy and finance — as a sector in which incomplete integration undermines Europe’s overall competitiveness and cohesion. If Europe wants regulatory consistency to translate into technological relevance and competitive strength, the DNA represents a starting point. The strategic question raised by this work is how to leverage this reform within a broader strategic agenda, capable of transforming European networks from an object of regulation into a lever for digital sovereignty.