Rec to the EU Council Europe and the GII -- sorry for the format but ..

[David Farber <farber () linc cis upenn edu>]

   Two elements should accompany the process:
   
     * TOs freed from politically imposed budgetary constraints;
       
     * a fair and equitable sharing of the burden of providing universal
       services between all licensed operators.
       
   Fostering critical mass 
   
   Market segments based on the new information infrastructures cannot
   provide an adequate return on investment without a certain level of
   demand. In most cases, competition alone will not provide such a mass,
   or it will provide it too slowly.
   
   
   
   A number of measures should be taken in order to reach this goal:
   
     * co-operation should be encouraged among competitors so as to
       create the required size and momentum in particular market areas.
       The already mentioned GSM MoU is an archetypal example of how
       positive this approach can be.
       
     * agreement between public administrations to achieve common
       requirements and specifications, and a commitment to use these in
       procurement at national and European levels.
       
     * extensive promotion and use of existing and forthcoming European
       networks and services.
       
     * awareness campaigns, notably directed at public administrations,
       SMEs and educational institutions.
       
     
     
     
     
   It is recommended to promote public awareness. Particular attention
   should be paid to the small and medium sized business sector, public
   administrations and the younger generation.
   
   
   
   In addition, everyone involved in building up the information society
   must be in a position to adapt strategies and forge alliances to
   enable them to contribute to, and benefit from, overall growth in the
   field.
   
   
   
   Secure the world-wide dimension 
   
     The Group recommends that the openness of the European market should
     find its counterpart in markets and networks of other regions of
     the world. It is of paramount importance for Europe that adequate
     steps are taken to guarantee equal access.
     
   
   
   
   
   Since information infrastructures are borderless in an open market
   environment, the information society has an essentially global
   dimension.
   
   
   
   The actions advocated in this Report will lead to a truly open
   environment, where access is provided to all players. This openness
   should find its counterpart in markets and networks of other regions
   of the world. It is obviously of paramount importance for Europe that
   adequate steps are taken to guarantee equal access
   
   
   
Towards a positive outcome


   
   
   The responses outlined above to the challenges posed by the
   deployment of the information society will be positive for all
   involved in its creation and use.
   
   
   
   Telecommunications, cable and satellite operators will be in a
   position to take full advantage of market opportunities as they see
   fit, and to expand their market share.
   
   
   
   The service provider and content industries will be able to offer
   innovative products at attractive prices.
   
   
   
   Citizens and users will benefit from a broader range of competing
   services.
   
   
   
   Telecommunication equipment and software suppliers will see an
   expanding market.
   
   
   
   Those countries that have already opted for faster liberalisation,
   are experiencing rapidly expanding domestic markets that provide new
   opportunities for TOs, service providers and industry. For the
   others, the price to pay for a slower pace of liberalisation will be
   a stiffer challenge from more dynamic foreign competitors and a
   smaller domestic market. Time is running out. If action is not
   accelerated, many benefits will arrive late, or never.
   
   
   
   It is an essential recommendation of the Group that governments
   support accelerated liberalisation by drawing up clear timetables and
   deadlines with practical measures to obtain this goal.
   
   
   
   In this context, the 1993 Council Resolution remains a useful point
   of reference. Even before the specified dates, governments should
   take best advantage of its built inflexibility to seize the
   opportunities offered by a burgeoning competitive market. They should
   speed up the opening to competition of infrastructures and of those
   services that are still in the monopoly area, as well as remove
   political burdens imposed on their national TOs.
   
   
   
   
   
     In this context, the 1993 Council Resolution remains a useful
     point of reference. Even before the specified dates, governments
     should take best advantage of its built-in flexibility to seize
     the opportunities offered by a burgeoning competitive market. They
     should speed up the opening to competition of infrastructures and
     of those services that are still in the monopoly area, as well as
     remove political burdens imposed on their national TOs.
     
   
   
    
     _________________________________________________________________ 
   
   
   
   
   
                                  CHAPTER 3
                            COMPLETING THE AGENDA
                                       
   
   
   Several policy issues have to be faced in parallel with actions
   needed to create an open, competitive and market-driven information
   society. Disparate national regulatory reactions carry a very real
   threat of fragmentation to the internal market.
   
   
   
   Here there are two different sets of issues and problems: one
   relating to the business community, the other more to individuals and
   the information society, with specific reference to privacy.
   
   
   
   As we move into the information society, a regulatory response in key
   areas like intellectual property, privacy and media ownership is
   required at the European level in order to maximise the benefits of
   the single market for all players. Only the scale of the internal
   market is sufficient to justify and attract the required financing of
   high performance trans-European information networks.
   
   
   
   Therefore, applying single market principle of freedom of movement of
   all goods and services, to the benefit of Europeans everywhere, must
   be our key objective.
   
   
   
     
     
     The information society is global. The Group thus recommends that
     Union action should aim to establish a common and agreed
     regulatory framework for the protection of intellectual property
     rights, privacy and security of information, in Europe and, where
     appropriate internationally.
     
   
   
   
   
Protection of intellectual property rights (IPR)


   
   
   While there is a great deal of information that is in the public
   domain, there is also information containing added value which is
   proprietary and needs protection via the enforcement of intellectual
   property rights. IPRs are an important factor in developing a
   competitive European industry, both in the area of information
   technology and more generally across a wide variety of industrial and
   cultural sectors.
   
   
   
   Creativity and innovation are two of the Union's most important
   assets. Their protection must continue to be a high priority, on the
   basis of balanced solutions which do not impede the operation of
   market forces.
   
   
   
   The global nature of the services that will be provided through the
   information networks means that the Union will have to be party to
   international action to protect intellectual property. Otherwise,
   serious difficulties will arise if regulatory systems in different
   areas of the world are operating on incompatible principles which
   permit circumvention or create jurisdictional uncertainties.
   
   
   
     
     
     The Group believes that intellectual property protection must rise
     to the new challenges of globalisation and multimedia and must
     continue to have a high priority at both European and
     international levels.
     
   
   
   
   
   In this global information market place, common rules must be agreed
   and enforced by everyone. Europe has a vested interest in ensuring
   that protection of IPRs receives full attention and that a high level
   of protection is maintained. Moreover, as the technology advances,
   regular world-wide consultation with all interested parties, both the
   suppliers and the user communities, will be required.
   
   
   
   Initiatives already under way within Europe, such as the proposed
   Directive on the legal protection of electronic databases, should be
   completed as a matter of priority.
   
   
   
   Meanwhile, in order to stimulate the development of new multimedia
   products and services, existing legal regimes - both national and
   Union - will have to be re-examined to see whether they are
   appropriate to the new information society. Where necessary,
   adjustments will have to be made.
   
   
   
   In particular, the ease with which digitised information can be
   transmitted, manipulated and adapted requires solutions protecting
   the content providers. But, at the same time, flexibility and
   efficiency in obtaining authorisation for the exploitation ofworks
   will be a prerequisite for a dynamic European multimedia industry.
   
   
   
Privacy


   
   
   The demand for the protection of privacy will rightly increase as the
   potential of the new technologies to secure (even across national
   frontiers) and to manipulate detailed information on individuals from
   data, voice and image sources is realised. Without the legal security
   of a Union-wide approach, lack of consumer confidence will certainly
   undermine rapid development of the information society.
   
   
   
   Europe leads the world in the protection of the fundamental rights of
   the individual with regard to personal data processing. The
   application ofnew technologies potentially affects highly sensitive
   areas such as those dealing with the images of individuals, their
   communication, their movements and their behaviour. With this in
   mind, it is quite possible that most Member States will react to
   these developments by adopting protection, including trans-frontier
   control of new technologies and services.
   
   
   
   Disparities in the level of protection of such privacy rules create
   the risk that national authorities might restrict free circulation of
   a wide range of new services between Member States in order to
   protect personal data.
   
     
     
     
     
     The Group believes that without the legal security of a Union-wide
     approach, lack of consumer confidence will certainly undermine the
     rapid development of the information society. Given the importance
     andsensitivity of the privacy issue, a fast decision from Member
     States is required on the Commission's proposed Directive setting
     out general principles of data protection.
     
   
   
   
   
Electronic protection (encryption), legal protection and security


   
   
   Encryption is going to become increasingly important in assuring the
   development of the pay services. Encryption will ensure that only
   those who pay will receive the service. It will also provide
   protection against personal data falling into the public domain.
   
   
   
   International harmonisation would assist the market if it were to
   lead to a standard system of scrambling. Conditional access should
   ensure fair and open competition in the interests of consumers and
   service providers.
   
   
   
   Encryption is particularly important for telecommerce, which requires
   absolute guarantees in areas such as the integrity of signatures and
   text, irrevocable time and date stamping and international legal
   recognition.
   
   
   
   However, the increased use of encryption and the development of a
   single encryption system will increase the returns from hacking into
   the system to avoid payment or privacy restrictions. Without a legal
   framework that would secure service providers against piracy of their
   encryption system, there is the risk that they will not get involved
   in the development of these new services.
   
   
   
     
     
     The Group recommends acceleration of work at European level on
     electronic and legal protection as well as security.
     
     
     
   
   
   On the other hand, governments may need powers to override encryption
   for the purposes of fighting against crime and protecting national
   security.
   
   
   
   An answer given at a national level to this and to the hacking issue
   will inevitably prove to be insufficient because communications reach
   beyond national frontiers and because the principles of the internal
   market prohibit measures such as import bans on decoding equipment.
   
   
   
   Therefore, a solution at the European level is needed which provides
   a global answer to the problem of protection of encrypted signals and
   security. Based on the principles of the internal market it would
   create parity of conditions for the protection ofencrypted services
   as well as the legal framework for the development of these new
   services.
   
   
   
Media ownership


   
   
   In addition to ownership controls to prevent monopoly abuse, most
   countries have rules on media and cross media ownership to preserve
   pluralism and freedom of expression.
   
   
   
   In practice, these rules are a patchwork of inconsistency which tend
   to distort and fragment the market. They impede companies from taking
   advantage of the opportunities offered by the internal market,
   especially in multimedia, and could put them in jeopardy vis--vis
   non-European competitors.
   
   
   
   In current circumstances, there is a risk of each Member State
   adopting purely national legislation in response to the new problems
   and challenges posed by the information society. Urgent attention has
   to be given to the question of how we can avoid such an undermining
   of the internal market and ensure effective rules which protect
   pluralism and competition.
   
   
   
   Rules at the European level are going to be crucial, given the
   universality of the information society and its inherently
   transborder nature. The Union will have to lead the way in heading
   off deeper regulatory disparity. In so doing it will reinforce the
   legal security that is vital for the global competitiveness of
   Europe's media industry.
   
     
     
     
     
     The Group believes that urgent attention should be given to the
     question of how we can avoid divergent national legislation on
     media ownership undermining the internal market. Effective rules
     must emerge to protect pluralism and competition.
     
   
   
   
   
The role of competition policy


   
   
   Competition policy is a key element in Union strategy. It is
   especially important for consolidating the single market and for
   attracting the private capital necessary for the growth of the
   trans-European information infrastructure.
   
   
   
   Areas of the information society are beset by intense globalising
   pressures. These affect both European and non-European companies
   operating inside the Union. If appropriate, the notion of a global,
   rather than a Union-wide, market should now be used inassessing
   European competition issues such as market power, joint ventures and
   alliances.
   
     
     
     
     
     Competition Policy is a key element in Europe's strategy. The
     Group recommends that the application of competition rules should
     reflect the reality of the newly emerging global markets and the
     speed of change in the environment.
     
   
   
   
   
   The aim should not be to freeze any set of regulations, but rather to
   establish procedures and policies through which the exploding
   dynamism of the sector can be translated into greater opportunities
   for wealth and job creation.
   
   
   
   Like other commercial players, companies involved in the supply of
   technologies and services must be in a position to adapt their
   strategies and to forge alliances to enable them to contribute to,
   and to benefit from, overall growth in the sector in the framework of
   competition policy.
   
   
   
Technology


   
   
   The technological base in Europe today is sufficient to launch the
   applications proposed in this reports without delay. They must focus
   on realistic systems on a sufficient scale to explore the value of
   the services offered to the user, and to evaluate the economic
   feasibility of the new information systems.
   
   
   
   However, new technologies do still have to be developed for their
   full-scale introduction following these demonstrations. In
   particular, the usability and cost-effectiveness of the systems must
   be improved, and the consequences of mass use further investigated.
   
   
   
   The research programmes of the Union and of Member States, in
   particular the Fourth Framework Programme, should be implemented in
   such a way as to take into account market requirements. Technical
   targets and the timing of projects must be defined with appropriate
   user involvement.
   
    
     _________________________________________________________________ 
   
   
   
   
   
                                  CHAPTER 4
                            THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF
                           THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
                                       
   
   
   Communications systems combined with advanced information
   technologies are keys to the information society. The constraints of
   time and distance have been removed by networks (e.g. telephone,
   satellites, cables) which carry the information, basic services (e.g.
   electronic mail, interactive video) which allow people to use the
   networks and applications (e.g. distance learning, teleworking) which
   offer dedicated solutions for user groups.
   
   
   
The opportunity for the Union - strengthening its existing networks and
accelerating the creationof new ones






   ISDN: a first step 
   
   The traditional telephone network is changing its character. Having
   been built as a universal carrier for voice, it now has to meet the
   communication requirements of a modern economy going far beyond
   simple telephone calls.
   
   
   
   One important development is the Integrated Service Digital Network
   ISDN. This offers the opportunity to send not only voice, but also
   data and even moving images through telephone lines.
   
   
   
   ISDN is particularly suited for the communications needs of small and