A Hyperconnected Society is Coming, so how will We Cope?

Director of the Centre for European Policy Research’s Digital Forum and Visiting Senior Fellow at LSE Colin Blackman, inspired by discussions at a recent CEPS Digital Forum seminar on the implications of a hyperconnected society, argues that fundamental principles such as freedom of expression and privacy will become increasingly important as the Internet of Things expands

Last chance for Europe in the digital saloon? CEPS Commentary, 29 May 2015

With the rise of the digital economy over the past decade and as internet platforms and ‘over-the-top’ players take centre stage, Europe has struggled to compete with other regions. The new Juncker Commission has kept its promise to propose legislative steps towards a connected Digital Single Market, but will the member states buy into this strategy and will it be enough to reignite Europe’s ailing digital economy, asks Colin Blackman in this new CEPS Commentary

The New Juncker Commission: The Digital Agenda. CEPS Commentary, 26 September 2014

In assessing the challenges facing Andrus Ansip, as Vice-President-designate for the Digital Single Market, and Günther Oettinger, as Commissioner-designate for Digital Economy and Society, Colin Blackman and Andrea Renda find that leadership and building real consensus among the member states will be the main keys to achieving what is, in their view, the most ambitious and important of the new Commission’s objectives. And, as they note further, their challenge is even greater, if one considers that, if successful, the Digital Agenda will have to be the last one. Five years from now, the ‘digital agenda’ will have become, simply, the agenda

European leadership in 5G. CEPS Special Report, December 2016

Prepared by Policy Department A at the request of the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), this report examines the concept for 5G, how it might fit in the future telecommunications landscape, the state of play in R&D in the EU and globally, the possible business models and the role of standards and spectrum policy, to assess the EU’s strategic position

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 R&D and IPR for devices and for the manufacturing process and material supply/verification; (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.JRC.J.4-Information Societ

Data Flows – Future Scenarios. CEPS Research Report, November 2017

Prepared by Policy Department A at the request of the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), this report examines the current state of play in the open data market and the legal framework in the EU. Barriers and possible solutions are identified in the form of future scenarios to 2020-25. The key policy recommendation is to instigate a system of Open Data Licensing to drive access to open data, akin to open source software licensing

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.JRC.J.3-Information Societ

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.JRC.DDG.J.4-Information Societ

A common European Spectrum policy

This briefing note considers the European Commission\u2019s proposals for a common European spectrum policy through reviewing adopted legislation as well as recent communications and other initiatives. The report was produced against the background of the review of the regulatory framework for electronic communications and the recent World Radiocommunication Conference