RESTART shares key achievements at Final Plenary Dissemination Event in Rome
Rome, January 23, 2026.
The final event of RESTART “Shaping Horizons in Future Telecommunications” concluded with great success, bringing to the Centro Congressi Auditorium della Tecnica in Rome from January 19 to 21, 2026, the results of three years of work that represent a fundamental resource for the telecommunications ecosystem, especially at a particularly relevant time for the sector.
The final RESTART event coincided with the publication of the long-awaited Digital Networks Act by the European Commission, which promises to offer a new and decisive perspective for European digital strategy.
The value of the European telecommunications market and growth rates (CAGR) until 2030 measured for the first time, the proposal of alternative future scenarios in the telecommunications sector, and the dialogue with public stakeholders (including representatives of the Italian government and the European Commission) and private stakeholders (starting with telecommunications CEOs) were the protagonists of the event and of the in-depth discussion with public and private stakeholders, at national and European level, on the future prospects of the telecommunications ecosystem.
INSTITUTIONAL INTERVENTIONS
Opening Keynote Speech delivered by Enrico Letta, who after the publication of the report “Much More than a Market” has continued to follow closely the topic of Telecommunications as one of three fundamental pillars, together with finance and energy, on which to build the revival of European competitiveness. In these areas, the failure to create a true European Single Market represents one of the main structural weaknesses.
Video message from European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, on the eve of the publication of the Digital Networks Act, which promises to give new direction to the development of European telecommunications assets.
For the Government, the Minister of Business and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso and the Minister of Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin spoke, bringing a message on Italian strategies and initiatives underway for the sector.
INTERVIEWS WITH TELECOMMUNICATIONS OPERATORS’ CEOs
The discussion on the future prospects of the ecosystem, as outlined by the RESTART study, also involved numerous CEOs of the main sector players, including Pietro Labriola (TIM and President of Asstel), Walter Renna (Fastweb+Vodafone), Benedetto Levi (Iliad), Giuseppe Gola (Open Fiber), Federico Protto (Cellnex), Diego Galli (INWIT), Andrea Missori (Ericsson), and Stefano Grieco (Nokia).
The debate on new European rules also saw contributions from Giacomo Lasorella, President of AGCOM, Antonio Perrucci (ASTRID), Senator Antonio Nicita, former AGCOM Commissioner, Alessandro Gropelli, Director of Connect Europe, and Pinar Serdengecti, Director of Regulatory Affairs at ECTA.
The central themes of the discussion were market consolidation, the European Single Market, new network sharing models, the emerging role of NetCos and Neutral Hosts, as well as radio frequency management.
PRESENTATION OF RESTART WHITE PAPER “A TECHNO-ECONOMIC VIEW OF THE FUTURE TELECOMMUNICATIONS”: MEASURED FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE VALUE OF THE EUROPEAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET AND GROWTH RATES (CAGR) UNTIL 2030
The debate was stimulated by the presentation of the RESTART white paper “A Techno-Economic View of the Future Telecommunications,” produced together with the Digital Innovation Observatory of Politecnico di Milano. The document is characterized, for the first time, by an analytical model that describes in detail the new European telecommunications system broken down by economic activities and indicates the estimate of the European market value and growth rates (CAGR) until 2030: data never previously measured.
The white paper also proposes a series of alternative future scenarios, whose realization will depend on the strategic choices that will be adopted in industrial and regulatory spheres.
32 RESEARCH PROJECTS, OVER 110 DEMOS
During the event, the main results of the RESTART program were also presented, the result of 32 research projects covering the entire spectrum of telecommunications technologies and applications. These are joined by 12 “Grand Challenges” clusters, which addressed the main scientific and impact challenges of the sector in a cross-cutting and multidisciplinary way. In a dedicated exhibition area, it was possible to visit over 110 demos, which concretely demonstrated the results achieved and the applications developed.
AWARDS TO THE 15 MOST INNOVATIVE STARTUPS
Particularly significant was the participation of innovative startups: during the event, the 15 best startups selected within the initiative promoted by RESTART were awarded. Alongside research, the program pursued six cross-cutting missions dedicated to training, technology transfer, startups, laboratories, doctorates, and dissemination.
PROF. BLEFARI MELAZZI (RESTART PRESIDENT): “THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR DEPENDS NOT ONLY ON LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY REFORMS, BUT ALSO ON THE ABILITY TO INNOVATE AND REPOSITION BEYOND THE PROVISION OF CONNECTIVITY”
Prof. Nicola Blefari Melazzi, President of RESTART, stated:
“RESTART has demonstrated that a large coordinated research program can have a real and lasting impact on the telecommunications ecosystem, going beyond mere scientific production. By integrating academic excellence, technological innovation, human capital training, and dialogue with society, the program has contributed to rethinking the very way research and innovation are conceived and systematized in our country. The sector is not going through a cyclical crisis, but a profound structural transformation, which also requires a change in the way research is conducted.
European telecommunications operators face a structural crisis, characterized so far by traffic growth against stagnant revenues, which has weakened investment capacity and long-term sustainability. Regulatory, legislative, and political constraints, high spectrum costs, and market fragmentation have contributed to this pressure, but they alone do not explain its depth. The central problem is the lack of innovation for which the entire R&D sector is responsible. Connectivity has become a commodity and operators have not evolved network-centric business models to capture value from digital services, platforms, and ecosystems. Although opportunities exist in areas such as energy-efficient networks, AI-based automation, and edge intelligence, seizing them requires a decisive shift toward innovation-driven strategies. For example, by integrating edge AI capabilities with network intelligence, operators can go beyond simply providing connectivity and take on a central role in enabling AI-based experiences, while strengthening their relevance in a future where artificial intelligence is pervasive, distributed, and deeply integrated into everyday devices. Applications can evolve toward greater integration with networks, enabling synergies such as: machine-to-machine information exchange; distributed learning and inference; radically new solutions and paradigms. Ultimately, the sustainability of the sector depends not only on legislative and regulatory reforms but also on the ability to innovate and reposition beyond the provision of connectivity.”
PROF. CAPONE (VICE PRESIDENT AND SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR OF RESTART): “TELECOMMUNICATIONS IS A STRATEGIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR EUROPE’S COMPETITIVENESS, SECURITY, AND TECHNOLOGICAL AUTONOMY”
Prof. Antonio Capone, Vice President and Scientific Director of RESTART, added:
“As the RESTART program, we felt the responsibility not to deal exclusively with scientific research, but to broaden the analysis to the European techno-economic context in which this research must translate into value. Telecommunications is a strategic infrastructure for Europe’s competitiveness, security, and technological autonomy. Informed choices on investments, industrial models, and governance are needed to build reliable and resilient networks, an essential prerequisite for digital innovation and the services of the future.”