Citation[]
Maarten Botterman, et al., Enabling the Information Society by Stimulating the Creation of a Broadband Environment in Europe: Analyses of Evolution Scenarios for Future Networking Technologies and Networks in Europe (RAND Europe) (2003) (full-text).
Overview[]
This report is the result of a study commissioned by the Directorate General Information Society of the European Commission to create a better understanding of the pace and direction of developments of broadband, mapped against an uncertain future, and to recommend policy options for government intervention as a background against which political decision making can take place.
The objective of the study is to identify the drivers for broadband development, both in historic terms, and through the use of scenarios, in terms of potential futures, and subsequently to recommend policy actions in order to boost broadband development in a cost effective way. This report articulates and assesses a set of policy levers that would not only accelerate the deployment of broadband but do so consistent with European values (e.g., a society for all, identity). The aim is to contribute to increasing European competitiveness and providing state of the art networks in Europe
The study provides an analysis of the development of electronic networks in Europe and North America and its technical, economic and political drivers. It includes four scenarios depicting possible futures of electronic networks in Europe, a framework for policy formulation, analyses of selected current policies and observations regarding possible policy measures and the input of experts and stakeholders in the field during a workshop in Brussels, and concludes with a series of observations and recommendations for policy action and further research.