EU e-Evidence & e-CODEX – Why Telecom Operators Must Act Now
- Tina Rosén
- Aug 21
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 7
Shortcuts
The Countdown to 2026
On 18 August 2026, the EU’s new e-Evidence Regulation (EU 2023/1543) and Directive (EU 2023/1544) will be fully enforceable – and now that deadline is less than a year away.
From that date, telecom operators must deliver lawful requests within just 8 hours in emergencies – or face penalties of up to 2% of global annual turnover.
This marks a fundamental shift: manual, fragmented processes will no longer be sufficient. Operators need to modernize now to avoid compliance gaps, financial risk, and reputational damage.
At a glanceDeadline: 18 August 2026 Emergency rule: 8 hours to deliver data Risk: Fines up to 2% of global turnover Impact: Compliance, security, and operations must be re-engineered |
The Compliance Challenge
The new framework creates challenges for both legal and technical leaders inside telecom operators.
For Legal & Compliance Leaders
The shift means greater accountability and visibility. Every request must be fully traceable, logged, and defensible in court or in front of regulators. Operators will be required to appoint a designated legal representative to act as the official point of contact, carrying clear responsibility for compliance. With the possibility of heavy 2% global annual turnover fines hanging over the organization, these leaders must ensure processes are watertight, transparent, and able to withstand scrutiny.
For Security & Technical Leaders
The challenge looks different but is no less urgent. Meeting the 8-hour requirement is not just a question of adding more automation. Instead, it demands a platform capable of consolidating all relevant data – subscriber information, network records, billing data, and retention systems – into one place and processing it with extreme speed. At the same time, these systems must be designed with resilience in mind. Security leaders know that lawful access platforms are attractive targets for attackers, so compliance must never come at the expense of network security or stability.
Key challenges for operators:
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What’s Changing with e-Evidence
The e-Evidence framework is designed to speed up cross-border investigations, but it places strict new requirements on telecom operators.
Instead of treating compliance as an afterthought, operators will need to embed it into core processes. Communication must flow through the EU’s e-CODEX platform, and every handover must be auditable. This demands more than incremental improvements – it requires a strategic transformation.
The regulation introduces:
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How Subtonomy REX supports you
This is where Subtonomy REX comes in. Already deployed at European operators, REX has been built from the ground up to meet the demands of e-Evidence and beyond.
With open APIs, REX is e-CODEX ready and integrates seamlessly with OSS, BSS, CRM, and storage systems. By consolidating all relevant data sources into one environment and processing them at speed, REX ensures operators can meet the 8-hour emergency rule with confidence.
Beyond performance, REX provides audit-proof traceability, logging every action so responses are defensible. For operators looking to go further, the REX Case Management add-on pre-populates requests, assigns case IDs, and integrates billing – giving organizations full end-to-end control.
What REX delivers:
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The Time to Act is Now
The countdown to compliance has already started. With less than a year to prepare, operators need to take action today. Procurement, integration, staff training, and system testing all take time. Waiting risks last-minute scrambles, operational instability, and costly compliance failures.
By modernizing lawful access processes with Subtonomy REX, operators can move into the e-Evidence era with confidence – ensuring compliance that is fast, secure, and future-proof.
Why prepare now:
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Download our EU e-evidence whitepaper and telecom checklist below or explore how REX can support your compliance journey.
