Basic Ideas

On the basis of the Broadband Foundation's current researches for EU 27 concluded, that 70% of the citizens NOT CONNECTED within the EU are resulting from lack of motivation and education issues (e-inclusion). Our prior point of view is the market-indifferent (neutral) operation of the Foundation, to ensure equal opportunity while treating the project partners in each of the MS. According to the results of the international (EU 27) and national experience in the past few years, the EU Commission will pay an extraordinary attention to cease the Broadband Gap between the towns and the countryside in the near future.

Aims

BROADBAND FORUM was established in order to involve all key industry players to facilitate a strategic thinking in order to define the necessary actions on both the DEMAND (users, content, education) and SUPPLY (infrastructure, NGN) side of broadband development. Besides industry players we are also exchanging thoughts with the Governments, the local NRA's and with the Non-Profit sector. The uniqueness of the project is that we are involving all important players in the creation of the strategy.

The strategy will be focusing on the following subjects:

-Infrastructure Development (invest in broadband) (white, grey, black areas)

-Mapping the available infrastructure, providing a tool for all players (NRA, Government, Industry)

-Demand aggregation (invest in people) around 3 main issues:

- Digital self-confidence
- Digital public-confidence
- Digital public-security

The long-term aim of BROADBAND FORUM is that every information, educational material, competition documentation should be found on one page (of course, translated into the mother tongues of the member countries) that is in connection with the development of the broadband Internet penetration and with the effective usage of the opportunities provided by the the Internet. As a first step the Foundation is determined to ensure the permanent communication of the MS Best Practice projects, which are in many cases present at a national level but not yet communicated within the EU member countries.

Broadband Forum 1.0 is the keynote paper on developing the future broadband common thinking. 3 main industry players were involved in making the 1.0 version of the study (Deutche Telekom, UPC, Invitel Corp.)