A public-private partnership on the Future Internet

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Brussels, 28 October 2009

The anticipated technological developments of the Future Internet and the trends towards smart infrastructures (in energy, mobility, health, work, environment, etc.) provide Europe with an opportunity to progress towards a sustainable economy, in line with the Commission recovery package adopted on 26 November 2008.
Leveraging Future Internet technologies through their use in smart infrastructures offer the opportunity to boost European competitiveness in nascent technologies and systems such as sensor networks7 or 'cloud computing', and will make it possible to measure, monitor and process huge volumes of information.
This Communication seeks to provide a framework to make the most of these trends, underpinning the emergence of a 'smart' society while at the same time increasing the competitiveness of the European ICT industry, in particular by:

• capitalising on the steps taken at EU level to push the frontiers of internet technology forward;
• consolidating the short to medium-term approach, re-emphasising key aspects and encouraging new initiatives to help give Europe a leading edge in the Future Internet;
• preparing for the launch of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative on the Future Internet, as also encouraged by Member States9 and industry.

Taking advantage of this opportunity means:

• establishing close partnerships between stakeholders in the different domains, ICT and smart infrastructures,
• overcoming fragmentation and building critical mass at EU level,
• fostering competition, openness and standardisation, involving consumer/citizen, ensuring trust, security and data protection with transparent and democratic governance and control of offered services as guiding principles.

An industry-driven PPP implemented with existing Framework Programme mechanisms in the coming ICT Work Programmes for 2011-2013 will ensure a quick start of these activities. The PPP will capitalise on the work of five European Technology Platforms11 (ETPs), with cross-fertilisation of the internet-related issues of their respective Strategic Research Agendas.