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The centre of the shift is where you will find yourself. Telefónica, pitching itself as part infrastructure provider, part cybersecurity player — and increasingly, as a company preparing for the age of quantum computing. The Spanish telecoms company says it has developed “quantum-safe approaches” to protect vital communications, data flows, and digital infrastructure. They are also pushing Brussels for greater telecom consolidation, so that Europe can make large investments.
Europe’s price tag can’t be ignored, from “strategic autonomy” to a cost that Europe cannot ignore
Europe is reliant on non-European platforms, cloud services and digital components. That dependence creates political risk, legal uncertainty, and a straightforward security problem for sectors that cannot afford disruption — government, defence, healthcare, banking and energy.
What has changed, however, is the urgency. European Parliament research The investment gap has been quantified many times. One widely cited estimate says the EU would need to step up investment in digital infrastructure by roughly €157bn to €227bn a year to become truly competitive.
It is for this reason that “digital sovereignty” has become an important part of EU telecom and industry policy. It is also why the big operators are now talking as much about security and resilience as they are about coverage maps.
Telefónica’s bet: protect today’s networks from tomorrow’s quantum threat
Telefónica’s “quantum-safe” messaging is built around a simple idea: today’s encryption underpins almost everything online, and quantum computing is expected to make parts of that encryption vulnerable in future.
In response, Telefónica has been presenting Quantum-Safe Networks as a way for organisations to protect critical communications and data, and to prepare for a post-quantum world.
The company also formalised their quantum strategy. It announced that it would be announcing a new strategy in 2025. Centre of Excellence for quantum technologies, tying explicitly its work to post-quantum cyber-security and crypto-agility.
Commercial aspects are also present. Telefónica Tech has partnered with IBM Around quantum-safe capabilities for security, positioning it as a practical solution for clients concerned about future-proofing their systems.
And in a very current, very Spanish development, Telefónica has also been linked to new quantum computing infrastructure inside Spain. CESGAGalicia’s supercomputing centre) has signed an agreement with IQM and Telefónica to acquire, with deployment expected by June 2026.
The Murtra Argument: Europe can’t achieve sovereignty without scale
Telefónica’s chairman and CEO, Marc Murtra. has stated that Europe’s fragmented market for telecoms limits investment. In a major 2025 intervention, he called on regulators to allow consolidation so operators can “create technological capacity” — language clearly aimed at the wider sovereignty debate.
Telefónica has pushed the same case in its own public commentary, framing consolidation as a route to stronger European infrastructure and competitiveness.
UK´s Financial Times reporting has also pointed to Telefónica’s growing interest in data centres and cybersecurity as part of this repositioning — not just as adjacent businesses, but as strategic infrastructure Europe wants to keep closer to home.
It’s not just Telefónica: the telecom giants are singing from the same hymn sheet
Telefónica is far from alone. Orange and Deutsche Telekom A joint statement was published in which it was argued that digital sovereignty is now a top priority for the EU, and that its delivery will require significant investment and policy reform.
Reuters The article also reports on a wider industry-wide push by leading telecom executives to encourage the European Commission, to relax merger rules in order to fund infrastructure investments, while the EU is working on a Digital Networks Act.
There is increasing pressure outside telecoms. A statement backed by 41 European CEOs The European Commission has called for a faster investment pace and a more flexible regulatory environment in order to prevent Europe from losing out on critical technologies.
In a second high-profile action, a coalition of European tech companies and groups have urged Brussels to back sovereign infrastructure You can “buy European” for strategic technology.
The Spain Dimension: Sovereignty talks meet hard decisions at home
Spain finds itself in a precarious position in the debate. It wants skills, investment and strategic industries. It also wants trust networks.
The tension was evident in 2025. Reuters reported that Spain’s government cancelled a Telefónica fibre services contract over the use of Huawei equipment, reflecting wider European security concerns around high-risk vendors.
Madrid has also been working to develop a “humanist digital agenda”. In a government announcement, Digital Transformation Minister Óscar López said Spain wants to “design and finance” a sustainable digital transformation — a tone that blends rights, regulation and competitiveness.
There is another reality Telefónica cannot escape: restructuring. Recent reporting has revealed significant job-cut plans in SpainAlthough unions also claimed that the final voluntary departure number was lower than earlier proposals. The bigger story, Telefónica argues, is a shift towards higher-value digital work — including cybersecurity and next-generation infrastructure — even as legacy operations shrink.
Why this is important for businesses and everyday users
Most people think “digital sovereignty” is abstract, until something goes wrong: a hospital network, a government system, a payment platform or a supply-chain.
What Telefónica and its peers are really describing is a fight over who controls the pipes, the cloud layers, and the security standards that modern life depends on. Quantum-safe is a part of this puzzle. It’s also the debate over whether Europe will allow the biggest operators to finance the race for infrastructure.
Europe has clearly stated its ambition. Now it has to prove it can pay for it — and build it — before dependency becomes destiny.
