Proposal for a Council Decision on a Specific Programme of research, technological development and demonstration in the area of advanced communications technologies and services (1994-1998) (94/C 228/02) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(94) 68 final - 94/0080(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 30 March 1994)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 130 i paragraph 4,

Having regard to the Proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Whereas, by Decision 94/. . ./EC, the Council and European Parliament have adopted a Fourth Framework Programme for Community actions of research, technology development and demonstration (Referred to hereafter as RTD) for the period 1994-1998 specifying inter-alia the activities to be pursued in the area of advanced communications technologies and services, and that the present Decision is taken in the light of the grounds set out in the preamble to that Decision;

Whereas Article 130 i, (e) stipulates that the Framework Programme shall be implemented through Specific Programmes developed within each activity of the Framework Programme; that each Specific Programme shall specify the implementation procedures, fix its duration and foresee the amounts deemed necessary;

Whereas the present programme is implemented principally through the means of cost-shared actions, concerted actions, and accompanying measures;

Whereas, in accordance with Article 130 i, (3), an estimate should be made of the financial resources needed to carry out this Specific Programme; whereas the final amounts will be decided upon by the budgetary authority in accordance with the relative priority assigned to the areas covered by this programme within activity I under the Fourth Framework Programme;

Whereas the Decision 94/. . ./EC (Fourth Framework Programme) foresees that the overall maximum amount of the Fourth Framework Programme will be re-examined at the latest by 30 June 1996 in the perspective of re-inforcement; that as a consequence of this re-examination, the amount deemed necessary for carrying out the programme could be increased;

Whereas the harmonized development and introduction of new generations of communication systems and services is vital to the consolidation of the internal market: Research and technology development is an essential underpinning to the development of trans-European networks and services; new integrated communications services are the key to increased productivity, industrial competitiveness, economic growth and the creation of new employment; innovative use of new communications services underpins the development of more flexible working patterns and the convergence of the media, television and telecommunications sectors in provision of interactive video services; decisions on liberalization of telecommunications services by 1998 will pose new challenges in technology development for both network and service inter-operation and service management in a competitive environment, and continued support for RTD at Community level is therefore an essential part of Community policies for the internal market, industrial development, new employment creation, and telecommunications itself;

Whereas the present programme can contribute significantly to the re-launching of growth, to the reinforcement of competitiveness and to the development of employment in the Community, as indicated in the White Paper on 'growth, competitiveness and employment' (1);

Whereas the content of the Fourth Framework Programme of Community RTD actions has been defined in conformity with the principle of subsidiarity; that the present Specific Programme defines the content of the actions to be undertaken in conformity with this principle in the area of advanced communications technologies and services;

Whereas the Decision 94/. . ./EC (Fourth Framework Programme) foresees that Community action is justified if, amongst other things, the research contributes to the reinforcement of economic and social cohesion of the Community and to its harmonious overall development while at the same time respecting the objective of scientific and technical excellence; that the present programme is designed to contribute to the realization of these objectives;

Whereas the present programme and its implementation will contribute to the reinforcement of synergies between the RTD actions in the area of advanced communications technologies and services carried out by research centres, universities and enterprises, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, establish in the Member States and between these and corresponding Community actions;

Whereas the rules on participation for undertakings, research centres (including the JRC) and universities, and the rules applicable to the dissemination of research results which are set out in the measures foreseen by Article 130 j, apply;

Whereas, in the implementation of the present programme, and in addition to the association with countries covered by the European Economic Area Agreement, international cooperation actions, consistent with Article 130 m, are also appropriate with other third countries and international organizations;

Whereas the implementation of the present programme will involve actions for the dissemination and exploitation of RTD results, in particular towards small and medium-sized enterprise notably in the Member States and regions which participate least in the programme, as well as actions to stimulate the mobility and training of researchers, developed within the present programme and in line with its effective implementation;

Whereas in the implementation of the present programme, it is necessary to foresee measures to encourage the participation of SMEs, notably by technology stimulation measures;

Whereas fundamental research must be encouraged, because of the rapid pace of technological innovation, particularly in the area of photonic communications;

Whereas it is necessary to carry out an evaluation of the economic and social impact, and of the technological risks, of the actions carried out in the present programme;

Whereas it is necessary, on the one hand, to examine in a systematic and continuous way the state of implementation of the present programme in order to adapt it, as necessary, to scientific and technological changes in this aera; and that it is necessary, on the other hand, to have carried out at appropriate times an independent evaluation of the state of implementation of the programme in order to provide all the elements necessary for determination of the objectives of the Fifth Framework Programme of RTD; that it is necessary at the end of this programme to carry out a final evaluation of results with respect to the objectives defined in this Decision;

Whereas the JRC may participate indirect actions covered by the present programme;

Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research Committee (CREST) has been consulted,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

A Specific Programme of research, technology development and demonstration in the area of advanced communication technologies and services, as defined in Annex I, is hereby adopted for a period beginning on (date of adoption of the present programme) 1994, and ending on 31 December 1998.

Article 2

1. The amount deemed necessary for carrying out the programme is ECU 630 million, including 10,3 % for staff and administrative expenditure.

2. An indicative breakdown of funds is set out in Annex II.

3. The amount deemed necessary for carrying out the programme, indicated above, could be increased as a result of and in accordance with the Decision mentioned in the Article 1, (3) of the Decision 94/. . ./EC (Fourth Framework Programme).

4. The budgetary authority will determine the funds available for each year in the respect of the scientific and technological priorities fixed by the Fourth Framework Programme.

Article 3

Rules for the implementation of the programme, other than those set out in Article 5, are set out in Annex III.

Article 4

1. The Commission shall continually and systematically monitor, with appropriate assistance from independent, external experts, the progress within this programme in relation to the objectives set out in Annex I. In particular, it shall establish whether the objectives, priorities and financial resources remain appropriate to the evolving situation. It shall, as necessary, submit proposals for the modification or reinforcement of this programme as a result of these examinations.

2. In order to contribute to an overal evaluation of Community activities foreseen in Article 4.2 of the Decision on the Fourth Framework Programme, the Commission shall have an evaluation carried out, by independent experts, and at an appropriate time, of the actions in the area directly covered by the present programme, and of their management during the five years preceding the evaluation.

3. At the end of the present programme, the Commission shall have a final evaluation carried out, by independent experts, of the results of this programme with respect to the objectives defined in Annex III of the Fourth Framework Programme and in Annex I of the present Decision. The Commission shall communicate the report of this evaluation, together with its observations to the Council, to the European Parliament and to the Economic and Social Committee.

Article 5

1. A work programme shall be drawn up by the Commission, in conformity with the objectives set out in Annex I, and shall be updated as necessary. It will define the detailed scientific and technological objectives and the stages in implementation of the programme as well as the financial provisions planned for each implementation method.

The work programme may also provide for participation in certain activities within the Eureka framework.

2. The Commission shall establish Calls for proposals for projects on the basis of the work programme.

Article 6

1. The Commission shall be responsible for the implementation of the programme.

2. For the cases specified in Article 7 (1), the Commission shall be assisted by a Committee composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission.

The Commission representaive shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority provided for in Article 148 (2) on the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the Member States' representatives within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.

The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged where they are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee.

If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the Committee's opinion, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall without delay submit to the Council a proposal relating to the measures to be taken. The Council shall act by qualified majority.

If on expiry of a period of one month from referral of the matter to the Council, the latter has not acted, the proposed measure shall be adopted by the Commission.

Article 7

1. The procedure laid down in Article 6 shall apply to:

- the preparation and updating of the work programme referred to in Article 5 (1);

- the evaluation of RTD projects proposed for Community funding, as well as the estimated amount of the Community's contribution to them where that amount exceeds ECU 2 million;

- the measures to be undertaken to evaluate the programme;

- any adaptation of the indicative breakdown of the amount set out in Annex II which has not been the subject of a budgetary decision.

2. The Commission shall inform the Committee, at each of its meetings, of progress with the implementation of the programme as a whole.

Article 8

The Commission is authorized to negotiate, in accordance with Article 228 (1), international agreements with European third countries with a view to involving them in all or part of the programme.

Article 9

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

(1) COM(93) 700 final, 5. 12. 1993.

ANNEX I

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL OBJECTIVES AND CONTENT

The present Specific Programme fully reflects the orientations of the Fourth Framework Programme, in applying the selection criteria and in specifying its scientific and technological objectives.

Section 1.B of Annex III, on the first Action of this framework programme, is an integral part of the present programme.

Introduction

The new focus of RTD in the specific programme on communications technologies is the emerging information and communications infrastructure, which will provide the basis of the information society of the future. The RTD areas proposed are those most vital to the development of the infrastructure, taking into account the need for selectivity and concentration of effort, and with the objective of improving the competitiveness of all industry and the employment situation in the European Union, and of enhancing the quality of life.

EC support for research and technology development in this area started in 1988 under the Second Framework Programme and was reinforced in 1991 and 1993 under the Third Framework Programme. This industrial sector has considerably changed in recent years, and the focus of Community RTD support in the Fourth Framework Programme will be different, but it is vital that the Community continues to support RTD activities in advanced communications technologies and services for three reasons.

Firstly, the harmonized development and introduction of new generations of communication systems and services is vital to the consolidation of the internal market: Research and technology development is an essential underpinning to the development of trans-European networks and services.

Secondly, the telecommunications sector is of major economic importance in its own right and as a support for all other sectors of the economy: New integrated communications services are the key to increased productivity, industrial competitiveness, economic growth and the creation of new employment; innovative use of new communications services underpins the development of more flexible working patterns and the convergence of the media, television and telecommunications sectors in provision of interactive video services.

Thirdly, decisions on liberalization of telecommunication services by 1998 will pose new challenges in technology development for both network and service inter-operation and service management in a competitive environment. Continued support for RTD at Community level is therefore an essential part of Community policies for the internal market, industrial development, new employment creation, and telecommunications itself.

THE CONTEXT

Advanced communications technologies and services are crucial for consolidation of the internal market, for Europe's industrial competitiveness and for balanced economic development. The services are a vital link between industry, services sector and market as well as between peripheral areas and economic centres. They are also a pre-requisite for social cohesion and cultural development.

Advanced communication services will multiply the benefits of more traditional services. Some major corporations have already realized the advantages that can accrue: lower costs, improved productivity, competitive advantages and reduced environmental impact. However, in Europe, there is still a gap between the potential of technology and the reality of applications.

The activities to be pursued will not only be a basis for innovation and a key to competitiveness, but will also make a contribution to answering European society's needs. The research will concentrate on the interworking, integration and verification through trials of high-speed, photonic and mobile communication systems, and the distribution of network and service intelligence. However, the actions will also include a number of 'high-risk', 'high potential' concepts from which the economic and social benefits could emerge in the longer term.

The two phases of the RACE programme focused on integrated broad-band networks and demonstrations of how services could exploit such networks. Work in this programme will build on the achievements, and contribute further to the success of European actions in this area. However, in the period to 1998, a paradigm shift is needed towards a stronger focus on stimulating innovative use. This will require a multi-disciplinary approach, and strengthened collaboration between users of advanced communications in the public and private sectors.

Community support for technology development is still needed in selected areas where no one player can act alone, and where common European specifications and standards are necessary. These are the areas covered in this programme.

The work will capitalize on the results achieved, and the collaboration frameworks established within the RACE programme. The emphasis on common functional specifications and standards is still vital. The actions will give greater emphasis to the interaction between technology development and regulations, in collaboration with national regulatory bodies, to support the continuing harmonization of regulatory regimes in Europe, and to allow national authorities to manage the industrial and social impacts of new technologies and services.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The objective will be to develop advanced communication systems and services for economic development and social cohesion in Europe, taking account of the rapid evolution in technologies, the changing regulatory situation and opportunities for development of advanced trans-European networks and services.

The aims will be to support European policies for early deployment and effective use of advanced communications in consolidation of the internal market, and to enable European industry to compete effectively in global markets. The work will enable the re-balancing of public and private investments in communications, transport, energy use and environment protection, as well as experimenation in advanced service provision. In conjunction with the work in the Specific Programme on information technologies, it will provide a common technological basis for applications research and development in the Specific Programme on Telematic Systems and will prepare the ground for the development of a European market for information services.

Measures for technology use stimulation, based on feasibility grants, will be implemented to encourage and facilitate the participation of SMEs.

THE AREAS OF WORK

The work will consolidate European technological leadership in digital broad-band communications and enable effective network management and service deployment in a diverse and competitive communication environment. In particular, the work will stimulate and coordinate the emergence of digital multimedia services and integrated photonic systems with a view to their widespread introduction in Europe from 2000, including development of the technological basis for deployment of 'Transparent Highways': (all-optical networks). It will ensure mobility on fixed networks and through advanced wireless, radio and satellite systems across Europe, with particular emphasis on user access in both public and private networks, and develop and demonstrate technologies for the integrity, confidentiality and availability of information in integrated systems.

In all areas, technology and service demonstrators will allow users of generic advanced communications services to evaluate the applicability of new technologies and to focus technology developments on their needs and on key areas for Europe's economic and social development. The lead given by users will also ensure that the technology development activities respond quickly to changes in economic and social conditions and to new scientific discoveries and breakthroughs.

A key role will be given to system integration, usage trials and demonstration of advanced services, and a close link will be maintained with trans-European Network developments. Application trials will serve to demonstrate the capabilities of advanced communications in a variety of business and public service sectors, and will allow the advantages in terms of efficiency, reliability, and environmental impact reduction to be evaluated. They will enable common interest groups to experiment with emerging technologies, to address structural and regulatory constraints to better use of advanced communications, to identify 'best practise' and to evaluate the impacts of societal evolution to an 'information economy', with de-centralized collaborative working and small business networking.

It is expected that the main technology development activities will fall in the following six areas:

1. Interactive digital multimedia services

Multimedia services, including television, have a strong impact on the socio-cultural life of society. European standards and multi-lingual services are essential for social cohesion in Europe, and a strong multimedia sector will create new employment opportunities. Digital systems will allow better use to be made of existing infrastructures for TV distribution, and will enable the provision of increased image quality and definition (to HDTV and beyond). They will make it possible to increase the number of programmes, to increase the number of sound channels for multi-lingual programmes, and to create advanced interactive audio-visual services.

The objectives of the work will be to stimulate and coordinate the emergence of European interactive digital multimedia communication services with a view to their widespread introduction from 2000.

The aims will be to enable the integration of existing broad-band services, including terrestrial, cable and satellite TV distribution, with the public switched digital services (ISDN and GSM) for interactive multimedia services, and to enable network development towards fully symmetrical interactive multimedia services. The work will aim to increase the efficiency of frequency spectrum use, increase the number of channels and quality of service available on all TV distribution networks, and develop technologies for flexible use of digital video communications, including ultra-high definition video, for a range of different purposes.

The work will make it possible to introduce new services: from specialist and professional telework support to public entertainment services. Enhanced interactivity is a prerequisite for 'pay-per-view' TV, more selective public information dissemination, on-demand training support, electronic information services for the general public, on-line feature-film access, 'video dial' (to view a recent TV programme) and viewer-profiled advertising and direct marketing. Switched video services will allow high-quality video telephony and video-conferencing to be provided to a wide range of organizations, including small business and private individuals. By enabling the linking of multimedia work-stations through high-speed digital networks, it will allow full motion video to be received and transmitted.

The work will involve development of digital technologies for cost-effective transmission and reception of different image resolutions for large screens and portable receivers, in a coherent digital image hierarchy. The provision of a powerful, flexible multiplex scheme will enable the different configurations of image and sound streams within one channel; it will provide means for access control at programme and channel level, and it will enable more efficient use of the frequency spectrum. Technology developments will include work on image and channel coding, service multiplexing, network management and access control. It will include development of systems for efficient frequency allocation; multimedia communication architectures; an interoperable set of source-coding systems for storage, transmission and display; common channel-coding and modulation techniques for digital transmission, and advanced operating systems for management of multimedia communication services. The source- and channel-coding systems will be based on a digital hierarchy offering flexibility in service provision to match the viewing situation.

The work will also involve the development of advanced image compression systems for communication on bandwidth-limited media, and image analysis, understanding and generation for advanced services such as 3D-video communication and 'Virtual Presence'. It will involve development of stereoscopic and 3D presentation technologies; advanced image capture, editing, storage and retrieval; and advanced interaction techniques for digital video services.

The work will make a major contribution to European common functional specifications and standards, particularly in the area of multimedia communication protocols, and image coding, and will permit the economies of scale that are needed for European industry to stay competitive in world markets.

2. Photonic technologies

The objective will be to stimulate and coordinate the introduction of integrated photonic systems, including development of the technological basis for deployment of fully optical networks ('Transparent Highways') in Europe by year 2000.

The work will exploit and build on the outstanding progress that has been made in optical communications in the last decade. Technology will be developed to use optic throughout the network, for both switching and transmission, avoiding unnecessary conversion between photonics and electronics.

The work will include development of techniques for multi-gigabit bandwidth provision (at minimal cost, bit-rate and distance independent), optical switching technology, optical signal processing and control. Migration paths and timescales will be established for the evolution from present-day networks, based on electronic switches, to the future hybrid and all-optical networks. Radically new concepts in design, network management and control of photonic networks will be developed. The fundamental advantages in physical properties that photons possess compared to electrons will be demonstrated in realistic applications.

New concepts in quantum optics, non-linear dynamics, femtosecond technologies and optical processing will be used to achieve the next generation of technological break-throughs and to provide terabit bandwidth capability beyond 2000. The necessary cost reductions for broad-band access will be made, to take full advantage of the 'Transparent Highway', particularly for customer network interfaces and interfaces between the fixed network and mobile services. The design and development of the new network infrastructure and interfaces will be closely linked with the broad-band services they will support.

3. High-speed networking

The objective is to provide integrated high-speed multi-gigabit networks by 2000 to leading-edge users in European industry, research organizations and universities, and to prepare for the Europe-wide mass deployment of these networks.

The technology and system development will support broad-band services, including videophones, teleworking, multimedia and social care. It will cover customer premises networks, public networks, and corporate networks; from basic technology development through to pilot implementation and advanced services.

It will involve a phase of user-led definition activities to outline the network services and the network infrastructure essential to support advanced applications. The activities will include a thorough analysis of usage planning, system design, implementation, management and supervision issues. The different technology and economic options will be mapped with network topologies and architectures. This will be followed by a second phase, developing the missing elements and integrating them with the results of R& D in the other areas. It will cover all the networking issues required for high-speed communications (protocols, routing and congestion management). The ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) technologies developed in RACE will be a starting point, but they will be extended to higher speeds and capacities.

In a third phase, interconnecton trials and demonstrations will be supported. They will promote the use of reliable, high quality and secure broad-band network services and stimulate timely and coordinated infrastructure deployment. These activities will also nurture progress towards the resolution of trans-border regulatory issues. The trials will be used to evaluate network management and operation, reliability and flexibility parameters. They will form a comprehensive test infrastructure based on the interconnection of islands and support a wide range of advanced applicatioins and services. Throughout, the various technologies will be aligned with evolving user requirements to raise user-acceptability.

4. Mobility and personal communications networks

The objective will be to accommodate the foreseeable demand for personal communications beyond the year 2000 and to permit the European industry to retain its leadership position in this area.

The dominant aspect of future telecommunication networks will be their capability to provide a wide range of telecommunication services to an ever increasing number of mobile users. It is expected that future requirements for personal communications will reach unprecedented levels, and the demand for a 'Personal communications space' will require radically new, expanded and spectrum-efficient networks, infrastructures and equipment.

The work will focus on operational trials and on the technological aspects of integrated fixed and mobile broad-band networks that have a direct bearing on the provision of enhanced personal communication services.

The trials will validate the wireless sub-system and network components in a variety of environments (office, residential, and factory). It will demonstrate cost/effective applications and services in such environments, validate the integration of different networks and services, and prove interface effectiveness. It will also involve the development and proving of maintenance procedures, reliability testing and end-to-end quality-of-service management. The work contribute to development of common specifications and standards, as well as to the identification of new market opportunities and needs for changes in regulatory procedures and equipment specifications.

The work will specifically address the following two main areas:

For mobile broad-band systems and services, technological developments will concern miniaturization, component integration and packaging techniques for low-power portable transceivers, for transmission, reception, display and local processing of multimedia information. Broad-band radio technologies will be developed for cost/effective transmission/reception of interactive and distributive multimedia information over wireless networks, including satellite and local area networks, with optimum use of the frequency spectrum. Advanced electrical/optical technologies will be used to permit 'radio-over-fibre' and the development of novel mobile network architectures using low power distribution points and base stations. Novel multiple-access techniques will be developed, together with associated coding and compression technologies, to meet the requirements for the reliable and secure transfer of very large volumes of information at speeds commensurate with those of fixed broad-band networks. Critical technologies will be developed for integrated satellite and terrestrial networks; signalling and transmission protocols will be developed, and assessments will be made of their capacity and coverage requirements. Standardization will be supported through development of common functional specifications for the integration/interworking of mobile broad-band networks (land and satellite based) with fixed networks.

To develop the concept of a 'Personal communications space', advanced technologies will be investigated for personal authentication, security and privacy through the use of voice recognition schemes and/or personal smart cards. Advanced broad-band integrated network management techniques will be developed for location/registration management and subscriber database management. Man/machine interfaces and common operational procedures will be developed for personalized service profiles, service and network access, call connection, service control and billing.

5. Intelligence in networks and service engineering

The objective is to develop technology for flexible and real-time management of communication assets, reflecting the requirements of users, service providers and network operators for solutions which can evolve organically with user needs, market evolution and technology changes.

The specific aim of the work on intelligence in networks is to equip the communications networks with the build-in features required for real-time communications management, including networks, services and user access.

The R& D on service engineering will advance the concepts of modular standardization of service components and building blocks, as a basis for cheaper, quicker and more responsive development of services. Modular standardization is the basis for re-usability and sharing of assets. It is also the pre-requisite for future-proof investments as it de-couples the technology from the functions and its integration in the realization of a given service or application.

This work will therefore contribute to the fast and flexible introduction of new services in advanced broad-band networks, and effective network management and service deployment in a diverse and competitive communication environment. The expected impact will be to speed up new service provision by at least one order of magnitude, thereby creating early market opportunities for new services. For the user, the impact of service engineering will be the ability to have more control over the services and communication media used: to combine voice, data and video in the form needed at a given time.

The software and system development will be carried out in the context of application trials, involving end uses, service providers and network operators. It will involve the development, assessment and validation of architectures, methods and tools, the integration of service components, and network and service management techniques. Self-learning and self-healing management systems for 'adaptable networks' will be developed and tested.

Work on the reduction of the service development cycle will focus on the whole provisioning cycle, from the identification of needs to the creation and deployment of services in the network. Particular attention will be given to transparent and reliable service introduction in real operational environments. The work will involve the development and testing of new service concepts which take advantage of increased bandwidth and intelligence in networks and increased mobility of users. Application programming interfaces will be developed and their validity tested. The work will take account of the heterogeneity of networks, migration to integrated networks, user mobility, the evolution to re-usable service components, and resource-hungry services, such as Virtual Presence. Techniques will be developed for rapid service conformance testing.

Work on service engineering will address new needs in an environment characterized by a rapidly growing diversity. The work will involve development of common functional specifications and codes of practise for integrated service engineering. Work on service creation environments will involve development of organizational frameworks and technologies for re-use of service components. Work on user issues will involve development of technologies and systems to increase user control of services, their integration, and use of resources; ergonomic research on use of services, and techniques for adaptive user-service interaction.

The work will be carried out in conjunction with that in area 6 on communications system safety, and security aspects of access to resources. Functional specifications and codes of practice arising from this work will support the standardization process.

6. Quality, security and safety of communication services and systems

The objective is to investigate and develop technologies for economically viable and operationally satisfactory solutions to requirements for services and systems that are of high quality, secure and safe.

Quality of Service, security and safety are closely related. Easy to use, reliable and maintainable solutions must be developed, within which security is one essential component. Information services require positive attention to the protection of information assets, both directly through the technology employed (functionality) and indirectly through the quality of the system design, development and operation (assurance).

The work will concern the public unclassified domain. It will therefore be relevant to most business sectors, public administrations and the public at large. It will be concerned with traditional requirements for integrity and reliability of communications (relating to the certainty that the information is as intended) and confidentiality (or privacy), as well as other features, such as non-repudiation (whether or not the originator is whom he claims, or that the addressee cannot subsequently deny receipt) and electronic signatures. This set of features, once publicly available, will allow the business community to perform most of their transactions electronically. In the area of confidentiality, it is recognized that solutions are required that are compatible with national security and the maintenance of public order.

The strong common links between Quality-of-Service, security and safety implies the development of a consistent technical approach. Trustworthiness implies both secure and safe networks and services. The work will concentrate on technology developments to improve quality of service, security and safety throughout distributed information systems, paying particular attention to cost-performance. It will explore built-in early warning and fault/risk reporting techniques, as well as flexible response mechanisms. These will be developed, where appropriate, as a means of protecting public network-based services and applications against interference and loss of availability.

For better Quality-of-Service, technology development is a prerequisite for improved usability and reliability in multimedia and distributive services. The R& D will address new architectures for delivery of safe and secure broad-band services. For secure communications, R& D will address the flexible management of security in an open, world-wide network and service environment. For enhanced safety, technology development will be related to fail-safe mechanisms, self-healing and self-repairing networks and services.

The work will complement that in other areas of this programme and in other Specific Programmes and will include investigations, demonstrations, experiments and trials of integrated systems. The results will include Common Functional Specifications, Codes of Practice and contributions to standardization.

Horizontal actions

Consensus development and concertation of national and regional activities for stimulation and promotion of broad-band infrastructure and service development.

These actions, which will bring together work in each on the six areas, will include concertation between RTD projects, concertation with European standardization and strategic planning bodies (1), coordination with, as well as collaboration in appropriate cases, with COST and Eureka activities, and coordination with actions funded under the ERDF, EIB, EIF and Cohesion Funds.

Concerted actions and accompanying measures will focus on social and economic impacts of advanced communications. These actions will highlight opportunities for re-balancing of investments in both the public and private sectors between telecommunications and transport for energy saving and environmental protection. They will involve the identification and definition of advanced services for Europe-wide deployment, as well as their impact assessment. Special actions will be taken to increase the awareness of the advantages derived from the availability of new services.

Special actions in international cooperation.

Most business activities are world-wide, and telecommunications must therefore operate globally. The mergers that are going on in major industries, including telecommunications, emphasis this global dimension. Special actions to support international cooperation will focus on applications development and network management, and will be limited to areas of clear mutual and balanced interest. Particular attention will be given to synergies with the National Information Infrastructure initiative in the USA and with similar activities in Japan.

These actions will also provide a framework for stronger cooperation with initiatives in eastern and central Europe, as well as with the new Independent States of the ex-Soviet Union, including those funded under the PHARE and TACIS Programmes, and initiatives financed by the EBRD. At a time when eastern and central Europe is going through a very critical reconstruction, support for advanced communication experiments based on 'appropriate' technology, linking organizations in eastern and western Europe, will help speed up transfer of know-how, stimulate indigenous economic development and open up new opportunities for European business. Special measures will also be taken to facilitate the exchange of scientists and researchers between eastern and western Europe in the framework of some R& D projects and trials.

Special actions for dissemination and exploitation of results and for professional training in advanced communications technologies and service management.

These actions will include the organization of summer schools, seminars, workshops and support for selected international conferences. Provision will also be made for professional exchanges of scientists between the Member States of the Community, for limited periods of research in the projects.

An increased effort will be made to stimulate the effective exploitation of emerging technologies and services through a programme of public demonstrations and exhibitions.

(1) ETSI, CEN/Cenelec, Eurescom and ETNO.

ANNEX II

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ANNEX III

IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES

1. The detailed rules for the Community's financial contribution are laid down in Annex IV to the Decision on the Fourth Framework Programme.

The detailed rules for the participation of undertakings, research centres and universities, and for the dissemination of results will be laid down in the measures provided for by Article 130 j of the Treaty.

However, for the purpose of implementing this programme the following precisions shall apply:

1.1. Participation in this programme is open, with financial support from the Community:

(a) to all legal entities, established and regularly carrying out RTD activities

- in the Community, or

- in a third country associated, wholly or in part, with the implementation of the relevant programme through an agreement concluded between the Community and the said third country;

(b) to the Joint Research Centre.

1.2. Participation in this programme is open, without financial support from the Community, and on condition that their participation is in the interests of Community policies:

(a) to legal entities established in a country which has concluded a scientific and technical cooperation agreement with the Community relating to activities covered by the programme, provided the participation accords with the terms of the agreement,

(b) to legal entities established in a European country,

(c) to international research organizations.

1.3. The participation of European international organizations may be financed on the same basis as that for Community organizations in duly specified cases.

2. The programme will be implemented following definition of trials of advanced communications applications which will best contribute to a European growth, competitiveness and employment initiative. The work programme for research and technology development will be adopted in the light of the specific requirements of the trials.

The programme shall be executed through:

2.1. financial participation of the Community in RTD actions carried out by third parties, or by the JRC institutes in association with third parties:

(a) Cost-shared actions of the following types:

- RTD projects carried out by enterprises, research centres and universities, including 'Integrated action' consortia bringing them together within a common theme.

- Technological use stimulation aiming to encourage and enable the participation of SMEs through grants covering the exploratory phase of RTD actions - including a search for partners - and for cooperative research. Such grants will be made following the selection of outline proposals which can be submitted at any time;

- Financial support for infrastructures and installations necessary for trials and coordinated actions (re-inforced coordination actions).

(b) Concerted actions which consist of the coordination, notably through 'concertation networks' of RTD projects already financed by public authorities or private organizations. Concerted actions may also serve as the necessary coordination for the operation of common interest groups which, through cost-shared RTD projects (cf. 2.1(a) first indent) bring together around the same technological or industrial objective, manufacturers, users, universities and research centres.

(c) Specific measures such as those in support of standardization, and measures aimed at the implementation of facilities of general value to research organizations, universities and enterprises. The Community participation may cover 100 % of the costs of these measures.

2.2. Preparatory, accompanying and supporting measures such as:

- Studies and analyses in support of the present programme, or the preparation of possible future actions;

- conferences, seminars, workshops, or other scientific meetings or mechanisms, including inter-sectoral and multi-disciplinary coordination meetings;

- use of external expertise, including access to scientific databases;

- scientific publications, including those for the dissemination, promotion and exploitation of results (in coordination with the activities carried out within the third action);

- evaluations of the socio-economic impacts, as well as technological risks, related to the set of projects within the present programme. Close collaboration will be ensured with the programme 'targeted socio-economic research' in order to ensure an optimal exploitation and eventual use of the results of this work;

- training actions linked to the research covered by the programme;

- independent evaluation of the management and execution of the actions (including studies) in the programme

- measures to support the operation of networks for increasing awareness and decentralized assistance in favour of SMEs, in connection with the Euromanagement action - RTD audits.

The actions for diffusion and exploitation of results carried out in this programme will be complementary to those carried out in Action 3, and will be implemented in close coordination with them. Partners in RTD projects will constitute a key network for diffusion and exploitation of results. As indicated above, the actions will be reinforced by a programme of publications, conferences, results promotion, studies of potential techno-economic opportunities, etc. In order to ensure optimum exploitation of results, the factors liable to encourage use of results will be taken into account from the outset and throughout the duration of RTD projects.