Call for Papers and Panel Sessions
Technology, Investment and Uncertainty
In late October 2012 the Financial Times painted a worrying picture of European telecommunication operators. A large number of operators have reported a decline in their earnings, due to a combination of regulatory and competitive pressures on the one hand and the continued economic crisis in Europe on the other. Due to the increasingly challenging environment that operators are facing, their strategies and investment priorities have changed. Some operators are exiting markets, while others are scrambling to capture market shares. And many operators are complaining that the regulatory regimes under which they labour are increasingly harsh.
It is not clear how these allegedly harsh regulatory regimes impact on innovative activity, by telecommunication operators as well as all the other companies in a broadly defined information and communication technology (ICT) ecosystem. While these regimes reflect the concerns of regulators regarding competition in ICT markets, they may also jeopardise the Agenda 2020 targets being achieved. Given the central role that ICT plays in the EU2020 Agenda, it is clearly important to understand the relationship between investment, regulation and competitiveness. This relationship will shape the extent to which new opportunities emerge, and whether they are successfully exploited.
If the socio-economic benefits of ICT are to be maximised, an appropriate balance needs to be found between the interests of companies - operators, software providers, content developers, etc. - and society as represented by regulators and consumers. Determining whether this balance exists and the form it takes requires the combination of influencing factors such as technological change, societal demands and economic uncertainty.
These and other topics will be dealt with at the 24th European Regional Conference in Florence. Papers and panel sessions in the following areas are called for:
Operator strategies - internationalisation, broadband investment, coping with economic uncertainty
The impact of regulation on operator strategy and investment
Innovative business models for broadband delivery and mobile applications
The relationship between telecommunications and economic development
Investment, innovation and returns on investment
The relationship between content, equipment producers and infrastructure industries
The role of government in telecommunication markets
NGN and NGA policies - their impact on efficiency
Role of regulation in promoting superfast broadband and Europe's 2020 Agenda
Experiences on the implementation of the new regulatory framework
Tools and techniques to investigate regulatory and economic issues
Spectrum - 4G licensing and launching, shared use
User roles and social networking
Technologic, economic, regulatory and institutional convergence
Other topics are equally welcome.
Important dates
| Deadline for abstracts and panel session suggestions: | 3 May 2013 | |
| Notification of acceptance: | 31 May 2013 | |
| Deadline for full papers and panel session concepts: | 9 September 2013 |
The conference will be held in Florence, Italy. The local host will be the Florence School of Regulation.
Abstracts should be emailed to fsr.comsmedia@eui.eu no later than 4 April 2013. Abstracts should be about 2 pages (800 to 1000 words) in length and contain the following information:
Names, addresses, affiliation and e-mail addresses of authors
A research question
Some remarks on methodology
Expected results
Bibliographical notes (up to 6 main references used in the paper)
Local team: |
ITS: |
