Secure connectivity is critical for Europe’s defence and resilience and should be treated as a strategic priority, a new report from Vodafone has highlighted.

Europe’s digital backbone: why secure connectivity is now a core pillar of defence sets out how Europe’s security is now inseparable from the security of its connectivity, and why Europe must respond by accelerating investment and driving pro-innovation policies.

Connectivity is critical to essential national services, such as hospitals, energy grids, transport networks, logistics chains and financial markets – and is now essential to armed forces’ command and control systems. If that infrastructure is disrupted or compromised, the consequences can spread far beyond any single sector, undermining economic stability and defence readiness.

Vodafone’s report cautions that politicians frequently view connectivity as merely a commodity rather than a core pillar of European defence and resilience. Critical connectivity investments remain delayed or underfunded, and coordination in crisis remains ad-hoc with responsibilities fragmented across civil and military authorities.

Joakim Reiter, Vodafone Group Chief Corporate & External Affairs Officer said: “Europe’s security is now inseparable from the security of its connectivity. But if Europe continues to treat connectivity as a basic, low-cost utility, it will expose citizens, democratic institutions and allies to escalating risks.

“Addressing these challenges requires a pro-investment, pro-innovation framework, underpinned by coherent and consistent policy. Europe has a choice – it can prioritise connectivity as central to its security, and in doing so strengthen one of its most important lines of defence against modern warfare.”

Dr. Antonios Nestoras, Founder and Director of the European Policy Innovation Council (EPIC), said: “Without secure critical infrastructure, Europe will face a persistent strategic deficit. Hence, our security policies must face up to risks to our subsea and on-land networks from hybrid threats, as well as the effects of concentration of network power in a few foreign companies.”

The war in Ukraine demonstrates that military action can severely test connectivity. When it holds, it can dramatically strengthen a country’s ability to resist. The conflict has shown that digital networks are strategic assets, not only supporting security but also playing a role in countering hybrid and electronic warfare.

To elevate the role of telecoms in safeguarding Europe’s prosperity and security, Vodafone has today set out five key policy recommendations:

1. Recognise secure connectivity as a strategic security asset, and reflect this in national security strategies, EU and NATO planning, and defence capabilities.
2. Establish permanent, trusted mechanisms for collaboration between governments, operators, and allies to coordinate crisis response, share intelligence, protect subsea, satellite and cyber systems, and strengthen cross-border resilience at the pan-European level. 
3. Close investment gaps in critical digital infrastructure where markets alone do not deliver the resilience and redundancy Europe needs. Europe must use targeted incentives and harmonised policies that strengthen network protection, including via the upcoming Digital Networks Act.
4. Pursue strategic openness by partnering with trusted allies, such as the UK, to co-develop critical technologies and align standards that reinforce Europe’s security and technological sovereignty.
5. Invest in digital inclusion and literacy to help citizens recognise disinformation and sustain trust in democratic institutions, reinforcing Europe’s societal resilience.

This approach will enable Europe to use its dense and robust networks for strategic gain, deterring adversaries, supporting allies and protecting the safety and prosperity of its citizens.