— Posted by Lorena Boix & the Going Local team for Spain  – English text available below

El pasado 1 de diciembre 2011 nos reunimos en Sevilla con unas 200 personas para hablar de la Agenda Digital Europea en España, concretamente de tres temas: eGobierno, Espectro radioeléctrico e Innovación social.

El evento, co-organizado por la Comisión europea y el gobierno de España con el muy valioso y entusiasta apoyo de la Junta de Andalucía, despertó gran interés y destacó por el gran nivel de participación tanto durante el evento como online (antes y durante el evento). Apuntamos algunos datos: en Twitter tuvimos más de 2300 tweets de #daelocal_ES y 364 twitterers. Además, un mes antes lanzamos foros de discusión online para intercambiar ideas sobre los tres temas de la Agenda Digital tratados en el evento de Sevilla, y más concretamente sobre la situación actual y las prioridades en España en lo referente a estos temas. Más de 500 personas participaron aportando, comentando o votando ideas , y se recogieron más de 60 ideas. Toda esta actividad se recogerá en el informe final del evento que publicaremos en las próximas semanas en la website del going local Sevilla junto con todas las presentaciones de los ponentes.

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Number of views: 1332

 — posted by The Going Local Team for Spain

Por segundo año consecutivo, la Comisión Europea está organizando  junto con autoridades nacionales y locales la iniciativa “Agenda Digital para Europa: Acción Local”. 

Este año los eventos tienen lugar en Madrid (como parte de la conferencia de contenidos digitales FICOD) y en Sevilla. El evento principal tendrá lugar en Sevilla el día 1 de Diciembre.  Lorena Boix del Gabinete de la Comisario Neelie Kroes es la embajadora que visita y representa la Agenda Digital en ambos.

En Sevilla  el programa abordará tres temas principales:

1.  eGobierno   
2. Innovación social
3. Espectro 

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Number of views: 1121

Posted by Pearse O’Donohue, DG INFSO, Head of unit: Radio Spectrum Policy

This is one of the key questions that will be addressed in a workshop on “Promoting the shared use of radio spectrum resources in Europe” in Brussels on 16 December 2011. In the workshop, hosted by the European Commission, the results of a study on shared spectrum access carried out by SCF Associates Ltd, a consortium of independent consultants will be presented and discussed.

You can find more information on the workshop programme, the key topics to be addressed and how to register your participation here.  Please register before 1 December 2011. As the space is limited, you will receive a confirmation on the 2 December 2011.

However, already for the preparation the workshop, the study team and the Commission Services would be interested in your views: Read the full entry

Number of views: 1187

— Posted by Daniel Kitscha (DG INFSO, Radio Spectrum Policy, Digital Agenda Assembly – Coordinator Workshop 17) on behalf of the author: Peter Moray (Director, EUTC).

To launch the debate on “Spectrum for wireless innovation in Europe” (Digital Agenda Assembly Workshop 17 – #daa11spectrum) Peter Moray (Director, EUTC) has provided us with his recommendations on the spectrum needs for smart grids. Please join the discussion and provide your input by commenting on this blog post until June 10!

SPECTRUM RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SMART GRIDS:

 1. The world faces major challenges in energy sector – CO2 reduction, energy security and affordability. The European Union has committed themselves to the 20-20-20 targets:

• 20% reduction in EU Greenhouse gas emissions compared with 1990;
• Increase in renewable energy to 20% of all energy consumed; and
• 20% increase in energy efficiency.

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Number of views: 4679

— Posted by Daniel Kitscha (DG INFSO, Radio Spectrum Policy, Digital Agenda Assembly – Coordinator Workshop 17) on behalf of the author: Knut Evensen (Chief Technologist, Q-Free ASA).

To launch the debate on “Spectrum for wireless innovation in Europe” (Digital Agenda Assembly Workshop 17 – #daa11spectrum) Knut Evensen (Chief Technologist, Q-Free ASA) has provided us with his recommendations on the spectrum needs for intelligent transport systems. Please join the discussion and provide your input by commenting on this blog post until June 10!

SPECTRUM RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEMS:

1. Background: The ITS sector is one of the high priority policy areas in Europe on two accounts:

• Road Safety; major reduction of serious road accidents
• Sustainability; reduction in carbon emissions and increased transport efficiency

The EU has issued the ITS Action Plan and an ITS Directive. These documents call for European-wide deployment before 2017, and national implementation preparations have started. The initiative comes from DG Mobility and Transport (lead), DG Information Society and Media, DG Research, DG Enterprise and Industry, and DG Climate Action.

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Number of views: 1908

— Posted by Daniel Kitscha (DG INFSO, Radio Spectrum Policy, Digital Agenda Assembly – Coordinator Workshop 17) on behalf of the author: Eric Klasen (Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality, Medtronic International Trading Sàrl).

To launch the debate on “Spectrum for wireless innovation in Europe” (Digital Agenda Assembly Workshop 17 – #daa11spectrum) Eric Klasen (Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality, Medtronic International Trading Sàrl) has provided us with his recommendations on spectrum needs for wireless eHealth innovations. Please join the discussion and provide your input by commenting on this blog post until June 10!

 SPECTRUM RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WIRELESS eHEALTH INNOVATIONS:

 1. Going forward, medical therapeutic and diagnostic applications will require, at a minimum, additional spectrum on a shared basis relative to a primary service. This type of regulatory structure will protect critical wireless medical applications from interference produced by Short Range Devices, digital systems and other sources of interfering radio emissions because it provides a legal basis for spectrum authorities to take any necessary action to address the interference issue. Read the full entry

Number of views: 3497

— Posted by Pearse O’Donohue, DG INFSO, Head of unit: Radio Spectrum Policy

As the Digital Agenda Assembly (#daa11eu) is fast approaching, I am looking forward to an interesting discussion with stakeholders and key spectrum policy makers on the spectrum aspects of wireless innovation in Europe.

In the upcoming workshop on “Spectrum for wireless innovation in Europe” we will discuss the regulatory challenges that result from innovative technologies and the more intensive use of spectrum. In particular, we want to focus on developments beyond the important area of electronic communications services that most people readily associate with wireless innovation and look at other internal market sectors. Read the full entry

Number of views: 1152

— Posted by Robert Madelin, DG INFSO Director-General

I had a good discussion at the IIC Telecommunications & Media Forum, yesterday, the 13th of April. I was sharing with the participants my views of the Digital Single Market, one of the founding pillars of the Digital Agenda for Europe. My main points were that this is the key to European competitiveness especially during this historical economic downturn. Even in these times, the digital economy is growing faster than any other sector, and this should be the space where business innovators should find the ideal ground to develop their ideas and to create new wealth.

When Europeans think of the obstacles to the Digital Single Market they often think of the most obvious frustrations suffered by themselves as consumers, when they are denied to purchase goods in another Member States because their credit card is not accepted, or when they try to watch IP-TV abroad. Video on Demand (VOD) on the internet is simply not available in certain Member States and the offer is restricted in most of the others. Because of the lack of a Single Market in digital music, certain providers just decide not to offer their services in certain countries and thus de-facto to discriminate consumers because of their country of residence. This is something I and my colleagues are confronted to daily, through citizens messages and complaints. Read the full entry

Number of views: 2673