EU's kommissær for informationssamfundet, finnen Erkki Liikanen, uddeler store roser til forskerne på Aalborg Universitet for deres indsats inden for mobilkommunikation.
Erkki Liikanen skulle torsdag have talt på Aalborg Universitet, der indvier et nyt center for teleinfrastruktur, men kommissæren nåede aldrig frem, ifølge hans pressetalsmand på grund af en snestorm i Bruxelles.
Det forhindrede dog ikke Erkki Liikanen i at sende den tale ud, som han ville have holdt i Aalborg, og i den står de rosende ord at læse.
Centret i Aalborg skal først og fremmest beskæftige sig med 4G, altså de kommende standarder for mobilkommunikation, og det område finder Erkki Liikanen vigtigt.
Han fremhæver i talen, at Europa står bag succesen for de nuværende GSM-netværk, der har givet grobund for kæmpe-virksomheder som Vodafone og Nokia. Men samtidig konstaterede han, at nogle af 3G-teknologierne er rullet hurtigere ud i Asien og USA end i Europa.
Hvis EU skal bevare førerpositionen og skabe vækst inden for mobilkommunikation, er det nødvendigt at fokusere på hurtigt og effektivt at kunne udbrede standarder. Under inderen Ramjee Prasad skal centret blandt arbejde med standarder, så fremtiden mobilteknologi i virkeligheden bliver en sammensmeltning af mange teknologier, der alle kan arbejde ud fra en fælles platform.
Desuden lægger Erkki Liikanen vægt på, at det er nødvendigt at satse på forskning og udvikling for at skubbe på udviklingen af fremtiden mobilkommunikation.
- Jeres fokus på de systemer, som følger efter 3G, vil bane vejen for informationssamfundet i fremtiden. Jeg er sikker på, at med initiativer som Center for Teleinfrastruktur vil Europa fortsætte med at være i front på dette område i mange år, skriver it-kommissæren som konklusion på den tale, han ikke fik mulighed for at holde.
Erkki Liikanen fremhæver to forskningsprojekter, som Aalborg Universitet er med i. Ud over projektet med nye mobilteknologier, som går under navnet Winner, er det et andet projekt med navnet Magnet, som også har Ramjee Prasad i spidsen.
Magnet-projektet, som Aalborg Universitet koordinerer, løber op i 400 millioner kroner og involverer 37 forskellige organisationer, som selv bidrager med nogle af ressourcerne. EU bevilliger 75 millioner kroner alene til de første to år.
Magnet fokuserer på teknologier, som gør det muligt at skabe personlige netværk.
Her følger hele den tale, som Erkki Liikanen havde skrevet til indvielsen af Center for Teleinfrastruktur ved Aalborg Universitet torsdag (på engelsk).
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to be here today at the inauguration of the Center for Teleinfrastructure. The research efforts that you will undertake at this Center at Aalborg University, in co-operation with other universities, research laboratories and industry, will help to shape the information society of the future.
European Leadership in Mobile Communications
Some fifteen years ago, Europe saw its first GSM licences issued. Since then, GSM as a technology has been adopted on a world-wide basis as the preferred technology for mobile communications. Today, there are more than 400 million GSM subscribers in the enlarged European Union [25 Member States] and around 1.3 billion in the world. On average, 80% of the European population currently use mobile phones.
The basis for this success lies in the universally adopted GSM standard developed by ETSI, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, with the support of the European Commission. This allowed for interoperability between networks, handsets and services. GSM?s evolving nature also enabled GSM to answer to evolving market requirements increasingly focusing on data.
The GSM technology has helped the European mobile communications industry to develop, expand and gain a foothold on a global scale. Some examples of this are Vodafone?s operations in Asia and the United States; and Telefonica?s and Telecom Italia?s operations in Latin America. We can also find manufacturers like Nokia, Ericsson and Siemens in China and in the Americas.
Key Issues to be Addressed
However, there are new challenges facing the mobile communications sector that need to be addressed. The early launches of 3G networks and services in Asia and in the U.S. have meant an earlier adoption of technologies beyond GSM. In Europe, the first 3G networks and services were launched in five Member States during 2003.
In order for Europe?s mobile communications sector to deliver the benefits to the end users in the future, several issues need to be addressed.
One of the key issues is interoperability. We need interoperability between the different networks, handsets and services. However, the Wideband CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) standard gives the mobile operators the possibility to optimise their own networks against handsets and services. The potential side-effect is that interoperability between different networks may in turn suffer.
The users have little interest in the underlying technology. They want to have the services delivered across a seamless environment.
The current new regulatory framework must respect the continuous convergence between the audio-visual, IT and telecoms sector. Regulation should also stimulate competition between the various platforms delivering the content to the end users.
Interoperability and Standardisation
In October last year, a meeting with CEOs from the major mobile communications companies in Europe was convened by my request. The aim was to discuss together how we could achieve a sustainable future growth in the sector. The objective was also to examine and map out the challenges and potential barriers to successful deployment of mass-market third generation (3G) mobile communications.
Earlier this month we met again. The CEOs handed me a report with a set of recommendations that addressed the challenges facing the sector.
The members of this meeting that we in ?Commission-speak? call ?The mobile communications and technology platform? emphasised the need to ensure early interoperability of new generation networks, both between networks and between mobile handsets and other end-user devices. All players in the new ?mobile? value chain have a commercial incentive to achieve end-to-end interoperability including the network and device interface. At the same time, competitive differentiation of applications and services is allowed.
If the European Union is to regain the lead that it achieved in GSM technology, bodies such as ETSI and the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) must find effective ways to keep up with technological evolution and to streamline mechanisms to achieve network and device interoperability. This task lies primarily with European industry who should meet end-user demand for interoperability by defining a ?profile? of functions needed.
The European Union can assist in funding specific measures under the Sixth Research Framework Programme and is prepared to do so, based on proposals from industry. This might include the possibility of Community funding of interoperability testing facilities.
EU's Research Programme
In the recently launched European Union Sixth Research Framework Programme, the European Union will spend a total of 3.6 billion euros on Information Society Technologies (IST). A significant amount is dedicated to mobile communications technologies.
In order to ensure concentration of effort and achieving critical mass, the Information Society Technologies work programme for 2003-2004 is focussed on a limited set of so-called ?Strategic Objectives? that are essential for realising the IST in the goals of the Sixth Framework Programme.
These objectives cover, for example, technology components, integrated systems and pull-through applications. When identifying these technologies we had certain aims:
- One of the aims was to reinforce European strengths in areas where it has established industrial and technology leadership: This is the case, for example, in mobile and wireless communications.
- Another aim was to overcome weaknesses in areas that are critical for European competitiveness and for addressing societal challenges: This is the case for example, in the area of generic software and computing systems and in content development tools.
- We also aimed to ensure the co-evolution of technology and applications so that technology advances are exploitable in innovative products and services. Particular attention will be paid to users? needs and to usability and accessibility of technologies and applications.
In the first call for proposals under Information Society Technologies, we focused, among other objectives, on ?Mobile and Wireless Systems Beyond 3G? and ?Broadband for All?. In the second call during 2003, one of the focuses was on ?Applications and services for the mobile user and worker?.
As many of you today here are probably aware, Aalborg University participates in the WINNER Integrated Project. This project concerns the development of novel, spectrally efficient air interfaces beyond 3G. Another successful project co-ordinated by Aalborg University is the MAGNET project. The MAGNET project focuses on enabling commercially viable Personal Networks that are attractive, affordable and beneficial for end-users in their everyday life. Both of these projects have been launched this month.
Later this year, we will launch new IST projects resulting from the second call with the Community funding worth over 500 million euros. One of the targets will be to strengthen Europe?s leadership in areas where it has demonstrated strengths, such as wireless and mobile, broadband, microelectronics and micro-systems.
Mobile and wireless will receive the largest allocation of the budget. Besides building the technologies that will accelerate the wider rollout and seamless integration of 3G networks, projects will seek to position Europe in emerging fields of wireless technologies, such as wireless LANs and Personal Area Networks.
Technologies that will bring broadband to every home and every business will also be supported.
The Mobile Communications & Technology Platform
The CEO meeting, the Mobile Communications and Technology Platform, which I referred to earlier, stressed that if mobile communications is to continue its success, improvements are needed in the way standards are set and interoperability is achieved.
The CEOs stressed the importance of boosting research and development in mobile and wireless communications and committed themselves to preparing a suggestion for a strategic research agenda for the forthcoming EU Seventh Research Framework Programme.
In December 2003, the Commission presented a report to the European Council entitled ?Initiative for Growth?, which mentions a set of projects in the context of the so-called Quick-Start action programme. This programme intends to make the best use of dedicated funds such as the Sixth Research Framework Programme.
According to the Growth Initiative, a Mobile Communications and Technologies Project would be developed through a Mobile Communication Technology Platform starting in 2004 and ending in 2006. We will now include the recommendations from the CEOs into this Platform and especially those related to research and development activities. The Growth Initiative stressed two research areas for the Mobile Project: firstly, a large-scale distributed mobile interoperability testing, and secondly, evolution of current mobile systems beyond 3G.
Conclusions
In order to maintain Europe's leadership in mobile communications, continued efforts must be made to develop future networks and services that meet the needs of tomorrow.
The European Union is doing its share by providing a research budget that meets these demands, and an appropriate legal framework that promotes investment.
A focus on services and innovative applications, coupled with an appropriate communications network, will drive the development of the communications sector forward. With higher transmission speeds thanks to new advanced technologies like broadband and 3G, the demand for improved network infrastructures arises. And in order to realise these improvements, research is at the centre.
Your focus on systems beyond 3G as the continuation of today's broadband and 3G networks and services will pave the way for the Information Society of the future.
With initiatives such as this Center for TeleInFrastructure, I am confident that Europe will continue to lead in this field for many years to come.
Thank you for your attention.
