Colin Blackman

Spectrum for the next radio revolution: the economic and technical case for collective use

Purpose – New technologies challenge the traditional view that the radio spectrum must be tightly controlled and the new orthodoxy that a market‐based approach is the most efficient way to manage the spectrum. This article aims to make the case for collective use of the spectrum.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on a range of literature, both technical and economic, as well as the authors opinions to describe the economic context, market and other models for spectrum allocation, technological advances in signal processing, and the way forward for assessing future spectrum management policy, with particular reference to Europe.Findings – Technical advances, from research in the commercial domain and from release of military research, combined with the increasingly important economic need to facilitate innovation in new radio technologies, demand a debate on a new approach to spectrum management policy.Originality/value – The paper brings together the economic and technical arguments in favour ...

A Helping Hand for Europe: The Competitive Outlook for the EU Robotics Industry

This report is one of a series resulting from a project entitled Competitiveness by Leveraging Emerging Technologies Economically (COMPLETE), carried out by JRC-IPTS. Each of the COMPLETE studies illustrates in its own right that European companies are active on many fronts of emerging and disruptive ICT technologies and are supplying the market with relevant products and services. Nevertheless, the studies also show that the creation and growth of high tech companies is still very complex and difficult in Europe, and too many economic opportunities seem to escape European initiatives and ownership. COMPLETE helps to illustrate some of the difficulties experienced in different segments of the ICT industry and by growing potential global players. Hopefully, COMPLETE will contribute to a better understanding of the opportunities and help shape better market conditions (financial, labour and product markets) to sustain European competitiveness and economic growth. This report deals with robotics applications in general, and in two specific areas selected because of potential market and EU capability in these areas: robotics applications in SMEs, and robotics safety. It starts by introducing the state of the art in robotics, their applications, market size, value chains and disruptive potential of emerging robotics technologies. For each of the two specific areas, the report describes the EU landscape, potential market, benefits, difficulties, and how these might be overcome. The last chapter draws together the findings of the study, to consider EU competitiveness in robotics, opportunities and policy implications. The work is based on desk research and targeted interviews with industry experts in Europe and beyond. The results were reviewed by experts and in a dedicated workshop.

The future of universal service in Europe

Purpose – The paper aims to report on a study for the European Commission that aimed to take a forward‐looking and broadly socio‐economic approach to the scope of future universal service in the light of technological and market developments.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a variety of primary and secondary research methods including desk research, literature review, expert interviews and workshop, scenario planning, needs and SWOT analysis.Findings – The paper finds that the fundamental concept of universal service as a safety net for the disadvantaged remains valid as we look to the future. While the scope of universal service might evolve as the Information Society develops, the case for expansion of universal service across a diverse EU‐27, for instance to include broadband or mobile, is weak. The best way of achieving universal or near‐universal service is by ensuring a competitive European telecommunications market. Any remaining gaps in provision should be addressed by very targ...

The public interest and the global, future telecommunications landscape

Purpose – Taking a forward looking and global perspective, the paper seeks to address the issue of whether the concept of public service telecommunications has any relevance to the future.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on published sources to look at the history of public service telecommunications, mainly in the USA, reviews the progress towards universal service across the world and explores the likely future developments in the telecommunications landscape over the next few decades.Findings – The concept of public service telecommunications helped to stabilise the telecommunications industry in its infancy but ultimately stifled access to telecommunications services at affordable prices. However, the future will still need to be nurtured so that telecommunications are provided genuinely in a way that serves the public interest.Originality/value – Provides a global and forward‐looking view on the value of the public interest in telecommunications.

Comparing Innovation Performance in the EU and the USA: Lessons from Three ICT Sub-Sectors

The objective of the study is to document the existence of innovation gaps between the EU and its main competitors in specific ICT sub-sectors – namely web services, industrial robotics and display technologies –and to explore the role of government policies in Europe’s future needs for innovation in information and communication technologies (ICT) through a comparison with the USA and Asian countries. Our analysis shows that rather than there being a simple innovation gap with the EU lagging behind the USA, a more nuanced picture emerges in which firms in different countries have strengths in different sub-sectors and in different parts of the value chain. A key lesson from the analysis of the three subsectors is the critical importance of higher education, particularly elite university research, and of local networks as generated by clusters. Governments can also encourage innovation through appropriate intellectual property and competition laws and, more generally, through the development of a business environment conducive to innovation. Finally, Governments can have a very important role through the funding of early-stage innovation

OLEDs AND E-PAPER. Disruptive Potential for the European Display Industry

DG ENTR and JRC/IPTS of the European Commission have launched a series of studies to analyse prospects of success for European ICT industries with respect to emerging technologies. This report concerns display technologies (Organic Light Emitting Diodes and Electronic Paper - or OLEDs and e-paper for short). It assesses whether these technologies could be disruptive, and how well placed EU firms would be to take advantage of this disruption In general, displays are an increasingly important segment of the ICT sector. Since the 1990s and following the introduction of flat panel displays (FPDs), the global display industry has grown dramatically. The market is now (2009) worth about ? 100 billion. Geo-politically, the industry is dominated by Asian suppliers, with European companies relegated to a few vertical niches and parts of the value chain (e.g. research, supply of material and equipment). However, a number of new technologies are entering the market, e.g. OLEDs and electronic paper. Such emerging technologies may provide an opportunity for European enterprises to (re-)enter or strengthen their competitive position. OLEDs are composed of polymers that emit light when a current is passed through them. E-paper, on the other hand, is a portable, reusable storage and display medium, typically thin and flexible. Both OLEDs and e-paper have the potential to disrupt the existing displays market, but it is still too soon to say with certainty whether this will occur and when. Success for OLEDs depends on two key technical advances: first, the operating lifetime, and second, the production process. E-paper has a highly disruptive potential since it opens the door to new applications, largely text-based, not just in ICTs but also in consumer goods, pictures and advertising that could use its key properties. It could also displace display technologies that offer text-reading functions in ICT terminals such as tablet notebooks. There are three discrete segments in the OLED value chain where any discontinuity could offer EU firms the opportunity to play a more significant part in the displays sector: (1) original RD (2) bulk materials for manufacture and glass; and (3) process equipment:. For the e-paper value chain, we can see that the entry of EU suppliers is perhaps possible across more value chain segments than for OLEDs. Apart from the ones mentioned for OLEDs, there are opportunities to enter into complete devices and content provision. In terms of vertical segments, the point of entry in OLED FPDs for Europe is most likely to be in the mass production of smaller FPDs for mobile handsets. In conclusion, OLEDs and e-paper have the potential to disrupt current displays market and in so doing they may enable EU companies to enter at selected points in the value chain to compete with the Asian ICT industry.

Europe’s 5G field of dreams: if we build it, will they come?

Proponents of 5G predict a huge market for 5G goods and services with millions of new jobs being created. The purpose of this paper is to make a realistic assessment of the 5G initiative, with a focus on Europe.,The paper reviews the technical, economic and policy literature to analyse the case for 5G in Europe.,The 5G initiative in Europe, as well as globally, has so far failed to assess objectively the future needs of its customers, whether consumer or business, to articulate a set of sound business cases.,There is little independent assessment of 5G in the academic literature. The paper makes an original contribution through questioning the dominant supply-driven industry perspective.

Preliminary Study of the Potential of EU KETS Research

This report summarises the results of a study that was carried out by SCF Associates Ltd for the European Commission, Institute for Prospective and Technological Studies, Joint Research Centre, Seville, Spain. Key enabling technologies (KETs) could be a crucial part of the EU’s response to the economic crisis over the past decade. More jobs and growth are expected from investments in KETs, hoping they may lead to a more prosperous society through higher skills and wages, while expanding innovative high technology exports globally. Consequently, KETs, especially the five ICT KETs examined in the following chapters, should be seen as having a strategic social importance. The initiative will catalyse not only product innovation but also the industrial process. Moving from innovation to commercialisation in a three-pillar model (RDI, pilot lines, and then full commercialisation) is its fundamental advantage over previous innovation programmes. It may assure the success of the EU’s future global competitive position, as it can stimulate high levels of skilled employment. That should address many of the grand challenges facing European society and its economy.

L'infrastructure des télécommunications jusqu'à 2030

Ces 35 dernieres annees, l’investissement effectue dans les infrastructures modernes de telecommunications dans la zone de l’OCDE a ete a l’origine d’une croissance economique substantielle. Il a elargi l’acces des consommateurs et des entreprises aux communications de toutes sortes tout en reduisant sensiblement les couts de transaction.

Telecommunications in Europe: Quo vadis?

Reviews the articles up‐coming in this special issue of Info. Looks at the opening up of the European telecommunication markets and stresses this would not be limited to communications as even non‐aligned markets would become free of excessive public intervention.