Working Group on Broadband & Science (WG-Sci)
Chaired by Vice-President Neelie Kroes, European Commission
The
Working Group on Broadband and Science has produced a report containing a number
of policy recommendations relating to the use of broadband networks and National
Research and Education Networks (NRENs) to advance scientific research.
Background
The Working Group on Broadband & Science (WG-S) brings fresh perspective to
the Broadband Commission , because the requirements of many advanced scientific
applications are often considerably greater than what is usually talked about in
the context of standard broadband services. The WG-S has examined the
requirements of broadband research and education networks (e-Infrastructures)
for data-intensive scientific activities, and has drawn attention to the need
for such e-infrastructures in developing countries; as well as the link between
such networks and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The WG-S has produced
an insightful and thorough report highlighting the issues in relation to global
connectivity for science, access and interoperability of computing networks and
capabilities, the role of National Research and Education Networks (and the need
to support them), the need for open access to data, the impact of Broadband for
Science on public services, and the role of regulation in the telecom markets in
many developing countries. The report offers a comprehensive set of
recommendations for policy-makers, ministries and regulators which focus on
raising the profile of e-infrastructure on national and regional agendas,
especially in developing countries, and in view of supporting the MDGs.
Executive Summary of the Working Group final report
Broadband connectivity has become a basic infrastructure of modern society,
just like roads, electricity or water. Science and education communities depend
on "e-Infrastructures" that build on broadband connectivity to provide online
services supporting the communities' work. Not only have these services today
become indispensable, they have also transformed the scientific process by
enabling the rapid sharing of knowledge, virtual collaborations within and
between continents, and remote access to scarce scientific resources and
instruments. Developing regions stand to benefit in particular because broadband
networks reduce the barriers of distance and location, allowing scientists to be
‘linked’ the world over, and allowing international access to valuable work and
databases in developing countries on challenges in areas such as health,
HIV/AIDS and environmental, all highly relevant to the MDGs.
Summary recommendations of the Working Group on Broadband and Science
- Sustainable, interoperable, efficient and accessible broadband
infrastructures which can be used for Open Science, as well as for many other
needed applications in fields such as health and education, should be a
world-wide investment priority.
- Robust policies, legal and regulatory frameworks, as well as
interoperability at national, regional and global levels are essential.
- Broadband e-Infrastructures should be explicitly referred to and
appropriately funded in national research, innovation and education policies and
in development aid plans.
- Research and Education Networks (RENs) should be given high political
visibility towards governments, regulators and academia given their role in the
transformation of developing economies into knowledge societies.
- National authorities and the relevant international organizations should
promote affordable and fair access to broadband e-infrastructures via the
establishment and consolidation of national, regional and global RENs.
- RENs should spearhead technological and service innovation in partnership
with industry.
- Broadband e-Infrastructures should be leveraged for public service, such as
e-Health, e-Government, e-Learning, e-Innovation and "e-Capacity Building".
- Broadband e-Infrastructures should support and encourage the involvement of
citizens in science.
- Open Access to data and results emanating from publicly funded research
should be ensured, enabling Open Science with major socio-economic benefits.
- ICT capacity building initiatives require urgent support, in particular for
computational scientists and telecom engineers, and for RENs to operate
broadband infrastructures.
The WG-S also identifies four elements of the Recommendations as short-term
targets which could realistically be achieved by 2015. these are: (1) to launch
an International Task force for scientific data access and interoperability; (2)
to reflect e-Infrastructures in national policies; (3) to leverage
e-Infrastructures for public service; and (4) to enable open access to
scientific publications.
Activities and Participation
The WG-S was created in January 2011 and held two video-conferences (26 May
and 27 September) and a presence meeting (chaired by Carl Buhr on behalf of VP
Kroes) on 27 June in Paris on the margins of the OECD HL meeting on the Internet
Economy (28-29 June). Four draft versions of the
report were circulated and reviewed by an extensive group of Broadband
Commissioners, representatives and additional contributors from academia,
industry and public institutions; before its presentation to the Broadband
Leadership Summit in October 2011.
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Members |
UNESCO
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Cisco - Bharti Airtel
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CERN
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UNCTAD
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Alcatel-Lucent
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KTH Royal Institute of Technology (SE)
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UNF
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Ericsson
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Leibniz Compute Center (D)
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OECD
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EUTELSAT IGO
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Meraka Institute (SA)
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FCC
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Knowledge Society Agency - UMIC (PT)
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Instituto Nationale de Fisica Nucleare, INFN (I)
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WIPO
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National Institution of ICT, NICT (JP)
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Google
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Earth Institute
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Internet Society ISOC
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Internet2 (US)
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WPP
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DANTE (UK)
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RENATER – (FR)
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ITU
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GEANT expert group
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MAAT (FR)
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European Commission
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Ubuntunet Alliance (Uganda)
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University of Brunel (UK)
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Telefonica
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CLARA (UY) |
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Microsoft |
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