Despite rapid progress in IST, more research is vital, says Liikanen
In spite of very rapid progress in the information society technologies (IST) field in recent years, more intensive research is still necessary, Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen said at the opening of the IST 2001 conference in Düsseldorf, Germany on 3 December. Mr Liikanen explained that Europe is still far from taking full advantage of the possibilities that the information society can offer on account of costs, complexity, unavailability and unreliability of current technologies. 'As we begin to understand the limitations and usefulness of current technologies, research is opening new avenues which will not only extend the scope, functionality and efficiency of IST applications and services, but will make them available, in the most natural and trusted way, to citizens whoever they are, whatever their age is, anywhere and anytime.' Mr Liikanen said that a massive research effort is needed, and that this will result in the use of electronic components in everyday objects and the development of networking and computing technologies with a bandwidth and performance capable of interconnecting such components anywhere and at any time. On the Sixth Framework programme (FP6) for research and development (R&D), Mr Liikanen said that IST research efforts will concentrate on the future generation of technologies, including third generation mobile telephones which will provide Internet access and wearable mobile devices incorporating interfaces making use of our natural senses such as speech. 'The future competitiveness of all European industry and the living standards of Europe's citizens depend largely on future efforts in IST research in order to prepare the upcoming generation of products, processes and services,' said the Commissioner. Mr Liikanen outlined six challenges which Europe must address: completing telecom liberalisation; bridging the digital divide; accelerating e-commerce; improving security and confidence in cyberspace; promoting content and getting governments online. Completing telecom liberalisation is necessary in order to drive down prices and promote broadband access, said Mr Liikanen. The unbundling of the local loop at the beginning of 2001 removed a bottleneck to this process, but much more must still be done, said the Commissioner, adding that 'the EU telecoms market remains fragmented along national lines.' Another major challenge is to adapt telecoms regulation to the Internet driven convergence between telecoms, computer and the media, said Mr Liikanen, adding that a new regulatory package for electronic communications is due to be implemented towards the end of 2002. Bridging the digital divide should be tackled in schools so that everyone is equipped with the necessary skills to live and work in the digital age, said Mr Liikanen. 'But connecting schools is not enough. The integration of Internet and IST into teaching methods and tools is still limited and required curricula adaptation and, of course, teacher training. A lot remains to be done,' said the Commissioner. Accelerating eCommerce can be aided through R&D, said Mr Liikanen, who emphasised that the current IST programme is focusing on solutions for more efficient electronic transactions and the networking of organisations of all sizes. Competition and legal guarantees alone will not be enough to promote confidence in e-commerce, said Mr Liikanen. It must be complemented by a high level of security and privacy on the Internet, he said, citing statistics showing 'spamming' almost tripled, and virus attacks almost doubled between October 2000 and June 2001. Again emphasising the importance of R&D, the Commissioner said 'research and development in security and privacy enhancing technologies is key for enabling Europe to fully benefit from the knowledge based society and economy.' He added that more intensive R&D is proposed in this area for FP6 than has been the case in FP5, which will address the trust and security chain, including protection against cyber attacks and safer transactions. However, 'you don't sell a service simply because it's cheap and safe,' said the Commissioner. 'What the consumer is interested in, is what's 'in' the box.' Mr Liikanen reminded his audience that content is not solely audiovisual and software, but also online entertainment, video games, e-commerce applications, publishing, education and many public services. If Europe wants an information society for all, content must be rich, diversified and in all languages, said Mr Liikanen. 'Our last but not least challenge is to get governments online,' said Mr Liikanen. 'What is still missing is real interactivity, which is the essence of the Net,' he said. The Commissioner explained that governments are a major driver of Internet uptake as they offer high quality online services. Applauding the concept of a European research area (ERA), Mr Liikanen claimed that it will provide the necessary framework for bringing together the IST research effort in Member States and build coherent approaches for future research in this field. 'Our priorities might change when these goals are reached, but not before. The strategy is clear. It is based on close articulation between support to research that is innovative and forward looking and the development of policy initiatives to adapt the regulatory and legal frameworks and to promote the wide adoption of Internet and information society in all fields,' concluded Mr Liikanen.