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The ETNO R&D working group

Yves Ruggeri France Télécom Chairman of the ETNO R&D working group yves.ruggeri@francetelecom.com

EU-funded research programmes are evolving fast. The European Union's Sixth Framework Programme is on track, and the European Commission is already preparing priorities for the Seventh Framework budget. Europe's network operators must see that their interests and needs are taken into account as this is done.

The ETNO R&D working group oversees this task by helping to ensure there is coherence across the EU's research programmes, namely by:

• Working on policy, strategy and implementation of the Sixth Framework Programme, including technology, demonstration and experimentation. ETNO communicates its views to EU institutions, national authorities and sector players as required.

• Establishing an initial policy position on the development of a strategy to reinforce European research, with the goal to reinforce the results of FP6 through the subsequent implementation of FP7. The working group pays particular attention to the development of new network infrastructures and services – such as mobile and wireless systems beyond 3G, networked audiovisual systems and home services, identification and authentication management, software platforms – and aims to have them reflected in EU research policy. ETNO's positions are actively circulated within the European Parliament and the Commission.

• Co-operating with other sector players (e.g., EICTA) on the Seventh Framework Programme’s IST-related issues and, where appropriate, promoting joint views.

In addition, the ETNO R&D working group maintains an operational document on the strategic approaches of network operators to various research initiatives. This document benchmarks the effort produced by network operators in various IST calls and reflects a massive participation close to 10,000 man months financed by the Commission.

The working group meets on a quarterly basis, coordinating its agenda via e-mail between meetings. Approximately 16 operators participate in the R&D working group, among which eight are particularly active.

As chairman of the R&D working group, I am sincerely convinced that the success of our group – its weight and influence – is due to the involvement of its team members.

Recently, new members have joined the working group (Matáv, Slovak Telecom), and I am convinced that their participation will contribute to new successes in the future.

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