Information Society Industry :: Communications
Europe's Communications Industry
The electronic communications industry is the nervous system of today's economy. Without it, there is no Information Society.
Overview ¦ Relevant Policies ¦ Relevant Activities ¦ Example Projects
"In 2006, electronic communications services accounted for 1.8% of the EU economy"
Communication technologies ranging from the basic telephone service to the latest satellite systems and personal area networks are converging, allowing the delivery of increasingly powerful Information Society services. This convergence stimulates growth - in 2006, electronic communications services accounted for 35% of value added of the ICT sector, or 1.8% of the EU economy.
But its importance extends far beyond these statistics:
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In a knowledge economy, the ability to transmit information quickly and easily is crucial, which is why electronic communications services are a major contributor (12%) to European labour productivity growth.
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Modern communication systems are essential to reaping the benefits of the Information Society in areas as diverse as government, health, environmental protection and education.
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New communication technologies create new products, services and even entirely new markets.
Europe's coordinated approach, which has already resulted in successes such as the GSM standard (see the Mobile Communications theme), has put Europe's communications industry in a strong position.
The EU and the Member States must continue providing a regulatory and legal environment which stimulates competition and innovation while protecting user rights (see Relevant Policies), as well as helping companies and academia across the continent pool their resources to keep our industries at the technological cutting edge (see Relevant Activities).
Further Details and Quicklinks
- Policies
- Activities
- Dig Deeper
- See Also
- Relevant Policies
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Read the Overview of Relevant Policies or jump straight to the following sites:
- i2010: the 'Single
European Information Space' pillar combines regulatory and
other instruments to create a modern, market-oriented regulatory
framework, including:
- Electronic Communications Regulation: a set of EU rules which promote competition in the communications industry, generating growth and cutting prices;
- Roaming Regulation - Protecting Consumers on the Move: While prices have dropped thanks to EU regulation, the cost of using your mobile phone abroad has remained excessively high. Are you paying too much?
- Radio Spectrum Policy: radio spectrum is a scarce and essential resource for wireless communications, and so requires careful and coordinated management across Europe;
- "Bridging the Broadband Gap": all regions should have access to broadband. Hence a Communication (March 2006), followed by a Conference and Exhibition (May 2007);
- European Space Policy: the communications industry needs a strong and competitive European space industry, particularly for providing services in remote regions.
- i2010: the 'Single
European Information Space' pillar combines regulatory and
other instruments to create a modern, market-oriented regulatory
framework, including:
- Relevant Activities
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Communications Research: the Research & Innovation theme provides an introduction to EU Research, while the Relevant Activities page overviews the following research activities:
- Under today's 7th Research Framework Programme (FP7,
2007-2013):
- Pervasive and Trusted Network and Service Infrastructures is one of the seven main Challenges;
- Europe continues building a communications e-Infrastructure for researchers
- Under the preceding Sixth Framework Programme (FP6, 2002-2006), many Strategic Objectives funded research into communication technologies:
Other Activities:
- Space Research: contributing to the development of European cutting edge space technology applications, mainly communication, navigation and Earth observation applications.
- Information Society Standardization System: efficient standardisation a crucial element for the success of the Information Society in Europe.
- Under today's 7th Research Framework Programme (FP7,
2007-2013):
- Dig Deeper
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Many more Commission policies and initiatives focus on
specific aspects of Europe's Communications Industry – for further details, see
the following themes:
- Communications > Broadband: high bandwidths are key to deliver new digital services. The European Commission is supporting the roll-out of high speed, always on internet throughout the EU.
- Communications > Mobile: from policy initiatives to smooth the rollout of 3G services to developing advanced technologies to exploit mobile communications in environments ranging from small businesses to large hospitals;
- Communications > Internet: The internet has had and will have an enormous impact on our way to work and to live. The Commission's policies and activities to bring cutting-edge new internet technologies to all Europeans.
- Communications > Satellite: Satellites can deliver Information Society services as diverse as interactive TV and mobile, high-speed internet access.
- See Also
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Highlights from the Communications Newsroom and Library:
- Press Factsheets:
- Press Pack: Review of the EU regulatory Framework for eCommunications (June 2006)
- Factsheet 13: Principles of the New Regulatory Framework (pdf)
- Factsheet 14: How the New Regulatory Package Works (pdf)
- Factsheet 52 Article 7 procedures (pdf)
- For the latest Communications news, publications and more from the Newsroom & Library, see right hand column, or select Information Society Industry when you subscribe to the Portal Newsroom Update;
Finally, see also:
- European monitoring centre on change: Europe's telecom sector: What will the future bring to this important sector
- Innova: European Network of Optical Clusters
- Innova: Opto-Micro-Nano Innovative Network Exploiting Transversality
Last Updated March 2007