15 April, 15:00 - 17:00 The economics of information for citizens, communities and commerce

Digital information is the principal asset of the Internet and systems are increasingly focusing on evolving networks of autonomous applications and people interacting with processes for the production, publication and retrieval of information. The growth in Internet usage and system-to-system interaction will require infrastructures that support billions of information exchanges and understanding of the micro- and macro dynamics in terms of structure, information, behaviour and economics. Digital information is now the enabler for creativity, innovation, decision making, economic output and enjoyment. Understanding the nature of digital information, how it can be used for societal and economic benefit, and how it is governed will be essential for the success of the Future Internet and is the focus of this session.

Session Agenda and Summary

• 15.00 : Overview - Michael Boniface (IT Innovation Centre)

• 15.10 : Information as an economic good and implications for business models  - Prof Claudia Keser (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)... 25 minute presentation,  Prof Jonathan Cave (University of Warwick)... 25 minute presentation

What are the economic foundations for treating information as a good? What is the impact on the economic mode of exchange and the relationships between providers and consumers? Is a "new" economy on the horizons as a consequence? In the so-called "race to the bottom", is there money to be made?

• 16:00 : Turning information into value in Future Content Networks - Doug Williams (BT), Peter Stollenmayer (Eurescom), Adolfo M. Rosas (Telefonica)

Where will value exist within the Future Internet? How will value be created, delivered, shared and protected? How will value change as a consequence of the envisaged technological advances within networks and applications? How will value be distributed amongst the various stakeholders for a sustainable Future Internet ecosystem?

Projects: TA2, ENVISION, COMET

Format: 30 minute role-based discussion

• 16:30 : Information value and the long term preservation of digital assets - Roeland Ordelman (Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision)

What value chains and business models underpin preservation strategies (interconnection between preservation, access and sustainability)? Where is the content value, where is money coming from, how to keep it coming, and how preservation and access should be mixed. What technical strategies, e.g. migration and multivalent, for keeping files alive and accessible over the long-term considering costs, technological obsolesce and emerging archive service business models.

Title: Audiovisual Content Exploitation at the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision

Projects: LiWA (Living Web Archives), PrestoPRIME and EUscreen

Format: 25 minute presentation followed by 5 minutes questions 

• 17:00 : Information asymmetry and tussles between consumers, providers and operators - Dr. Tuan Anh Trinh (Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Telecommunication and Media Informatics)

Information asymmetry will - at some points in the value chain - create unfairness which in turn might have undesirable consequences on the performance of the Future Internet. Regarding Future Internet governance, we need to address the issue of decision making if only incomplete and uncertain information are available. Finally, the roles of the stakeholders in the Future Internet are getting more and more complicated with the borders are getting blurred and event one stakeholder might have different roles at the same time. We argue that this phenomenon will have a significant impact on Future Internet architecture in general and the business models of the Future Internet in particular.

Projects: EARTH (IP project): Energy Aware Radio and Network Technologies COST ,  Action IC0804 - Energy efficiency in large scale distributed systems, COST 605: Econ@Tel - A Telecommunications Economics COST Network

 

Format: 25 minute presentation followed by 5 minute questions

• 17:30 Conclusions and closure

Download background document and draft session slides and document "Turning Information into Value"