European Commision Announces Additional ICT Research Budget For Internet Technologies

The European Commission said on 28 October that it would allocate €300 million to kick-start European Union research efforts into new Internet technologies that could see the Internet used as a medium for the collection of real-time data and its use across a range of services.

Examples of possible future services might include public transport, smart traffic or energy systems that use sensor networks or mobile devices to collect constantly updated information, which is then used to optimise the operation of the system. The Commission claimed that the efficiencies generated by such systems could reduce road congestion in the EU by 20 percent, and greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent, also leading to savings of billions of euros.

Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media said that such technologies could also "make our health care systems more efficient and treat patients from afar."

The Commission said it would spend the €300 million additional budget between 2011-2013, and that the money would be on top of €200 million annually being spent on ICT research through the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Develoment. Projects applying for a share of the €300 million would have to match the Commission’s contribution with their own finance. A call for proposals will be published in 2010.

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/foi/library/fi-communication_en.pdf