The concept of “Broadband For All” refers to a situation in which broadband is not only available to every citizen, but is actually used by all of them. In that respect it is a more demanding concept than the traditional universal service obligation in telephony, which merely stipulates the availability, at certain conditions, of a given service. The usage of information and communication technologies via broadband infrastructures by all citizens is a policy objective because it is considered to be a key component of transforming Europe into a knowledge-based society, thus enhancing economic growth and increasing employment.
For broadband there is no “universal service” obligation, nor is there a corresponding financing mechanism in place. Therefore, operators will provide broadband only where it is profitable by itself or when specific government incentives have made it profitable. In turn, consumers will demand broadband only where they see a benefit which exceeds the prices which the operator is charging in order to make it profitable. Against this common background, some countries have performed spectacularly well, and others rather badly.
Generally “Broadband” will be specified with respect to availability of a certain capacity and speed of connection, but this may not cover the complete meaning of the word. Whether people can rely on an “Always on” connection and the availability of certain applications might define more than speed and capacity whether Broadband is understood as such.
In the end users are not interested in speed or capacity, but they require certain applications to run as they expect, fast and reliable. There might be enough bandwidth, but the easiness at which non-skilled users can set up connections, run and use applications, is important. “Plug & Play” applications which run on different terminals, will be the final selling point and these applications will determine required speed and capacity of the connections. Content providers have to build applications dependent on the operators and the underlying network and guarantee, towards the customer, a certain QoS
In December 2004, the BREAD-project initiated "BroadBand Europe", bringing together on an international level all the BroadBand players, researchers, service providers, content providers, operators, manufacturers, policy makers, standardisation bodies, professional organisations. BroadBand Europe 2004 was, in view of the short term in preparation a success with over 140 representatives from 25 countries, coming equally spread over disciplines and covering manufacturers, operators, researchers… In 2005, BBEurope was organised in Bordeaux, France and the attendance grew significantly to over 180 participants, from 26 countries. The unique character of the event lies in the broad spectrum of topics being covered and allowing exchanging ideas and information across all disciplines involved in Broadband for All, reflecting the true nature of the subject and the objectives of the BREAD-project (BroadBand for All in Europe: a Multi-disciplinary approach), which is a Co-ordination Action, started 01/01/04 within the "BroadBand for All"-strategic Objective of the FP6-framework of the European Commission.
The BREAD-project, with the support from the European IST-programme under the FP6-framework is therefore convinced of the growth in this event and looks ahead towards the 2006 event in Geneva for another stimulating and interactive conference and exhibition. The 2006 edition is hosted by ITU (International Telecommunications Union) and will therefore be a "free registration" event.
|
|
