How can Europe reap the benefits of advanced communications?

This paper is based on work done in two collaborative projects in the RACE programme: R2091 URSA and T1023 Metier. It is widely recognised that there is considerable potential for growth in the demand for advanced communications (AC) services in Europe, provided that the price is right and that the right applications are developed and marketed. The paper identifies the right applications, the right price, and the potential impact on the European economy from the deployment of these AC services. It draws on the results of a two year project carried out in the RACE programme R2091 URSA, and on some preliminary conclusions of a further project of accompanying measures to RACE, which looks at the macro-economic impacts of AC. The objective of the URSA project was to determine guidelines for the introduction of AC in the European Union (EU). URSA´s assessment is rooted in empirical analysis, on a sector by sector basis, of the ways in which new communications services can be employed for commercial and competitive advantage by user organisations. Information gained from this detailed study of the potential gains by users, and the obstacles to their adoption of new services was then used to inform the macro-economic work of the project