1 October 2026 | Digital sovereignty in telecoms

According to IDC, “digital sovereignty is becoming a strategic priority across EMEA, reshaping how governments and enterprises choose infrastructure and network partners…Across EMEA, governments and regulators have moved data privacy, residency and infrastructure control out of the compliance file and into national and regional strategy, with AI sovereignty layered on top, and geopolitical sovereignty sitting above all of it.”

Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action said in a December 2024 report (translated from the German), “Digital sovereignty describes the ability to shape the digital transformation in a self-determined manner with regard to hardware, software, services and competencies. With regard to digital technologies and applications, this means being able to decide independently to what extent one enters into or avoids dependence on providers and partners.”

From a telco’s perspective, there are three main strands – data, operations and tech – which we explore in The Briefing.