Report on TEN-TELECOM Information Day - 1 April 1998
Over 400 people participated in the TEN-TELECOM Information Day held in Brussels on 1 April 1998. The large numbers of participants at the Day, held to provide information on the two calls for proposals issued on 14 March 1998, showed the wide interest in the programme. Both Robert Verrue, Director General of the Commission's DG XIII, and Nicholas Argyris, Director for Telecommunications, Trans-European Networks and Services and Postal Services (DG XIII A), spoke at the meeting, which was chaired by Mr. Yvan Capouet, Head of Unit DG XIII A/3. Mr. Verrue emphasized the importance of 1998 for the TEN-TELECOM programme, as the first year in which the new guidelines, adopted in June 1997, would be in force. The programme aims to give selective financial support in order to prepare projects for market deployment, enabling both citizens and SMEs to benefit from future multimedia telecommunications services. Mr. Verrue also noted that TEN-TELECOM should be seen in the overall context of globalization, liberalization and convergence in the telecoms sector, all of which are of strategic importance to Europe. The Commission wishes to place growing emphasis on the TEN-TELECOM activity in the future. In the context of the revision of the financial Regulation governing all the trans-European networks (TENs), the Commission has proposed an indicative amount of ECU 328 million for TEN-TELECOM for the period from 2000-2006. This would represent a significant increase from the current level of funding of ECU 26 million in 1998. In his presentation, Mr Argyris stressed the complementary role of the public and private sectors in broadening access to, and developing the use of, information and communications technologies. TEN-TELECOM provides support for feasibility, validation and deployment activities involving telecommunications networks, services and applications. These projects must relate to the creation of new services able to establish themselves as viable and sustainable long-term activities. The TEN-TELECOM programme bridges the gap between technical development and commercial operation in global communications. Both speakers also noted that the enlargement of the EU will serve to increase demand for improved telecommunications networks and services and applications across the whole of Europe. The opening sessions were followed by presentations from several members of the TEN-TELECOM team, covering the main call (98/2) on "Generic Telecoms Services and Applications", administrative procedures, and the call for Support Actions (98/3). Call 98/2 is TEN-TELECOM's main call for 1998, and covers three main areas of generic services: - Generic Internet services; - Electronic commerce support services; - Extranet and Intranet platforms for SMEs; It also covers seven specific areas of applications of public interest: - Education and training; - Access to cultural heritage; - SMEs, including electronic commerce; - Transport and mobility; - Environment and emergency management; - The health sector; - Cities and regions. Proposals may cover one or more of the above areas. All proposals must be of a transnational nature, must be based on proven technology, and must include concrete exploitation aims and a viable exploitation/financial plan outline. The afternoon was filled with individual discussion meetings covering the main application areas, as well as an information meeting on the Support Actions call.