Europe’s telecommunications sector is losing ground globally after nearly a decade of declining financial health, according to a new Kearney report, European telecoms 2026: in need of a health boost. The study is based on Kearney European Telecom Health Index, a comprehensive benchmark assessing the performance of telecom markets in 20 European countries across five dimensions: financial performance, commercial ability, technology deployment, business environment, and customer sentiment.
A broader European wake-up call
The report finds that while telecom networks have become essential to Europe’s digital economy, the sector’s overall health has weakened. Across Europe, the Index shows that 70% of the population lives in countries with below-median telecom health, putting digital competitiveness, AI adoption, and economic resilience at risk. Despite heavy investment, European operators face stagnant revenues, falling returns, and a growing funding gap estimated at EUR 174 billion by 2030.
Romania: value creation remains untapped
Romania ranks 16th out of 20 overall in the Index.
Romania stands out for its high fiber take-up relative to coverage, a hallmark of healthier telecom markets, which translates also in top 3 highest customer satisfaction score. Alongside countries such as Sweden, France, and Portugal, Romania has successfully converted infrastructure investment into real household adoption – a critical differentiator in a continent struggling with underused fiber networks
However, this infrastructure strength is not yet translating into robust financial performance. Romania records one of the lowest ARPU levels in Europe as a share of household income, limiting operators’ ability to earn adequate returns on capital and reinvest sustainably. The report notes that Romania, together with Denmark, exemplifies markets where demand exists but customer value is not fully activated.
Seven action paths
Kearney identifies seven priority action paths to restore sector health, including accelerating fiber monetization, resetting B2B ICT strategies, embedding AI-driven customer value management, radical cost transformation, strengthening network resilience, integrating satellite connectivity responsibly, and attracting private equity capital at scale.
For Romania, the seven pathways do not carry equal weight. The country’s telecom sector starts from a position of relative strength in infrastructure, but structural weakness in value creation and financial sustainability. As a result, Romania’s priorities are less about accelerating rollout and more about extracting durable economic value from existing assets.
In practical terms:
- Three pathways are critical and immediate priorities for Romania: AI-powered customer value management, advanced cost reduction, and private capital partnerships. These address Romania’s core challenges of low ARPU, thin margins, and limited reinvestment capacity.
- Two pathways are important enablers: Fiber commercialization and network resilience. Romania has already made progress here but must now protect and professionalize these strengths to avoid value erosion.