The challenges of payment transactions in electronic commerce were initially underestimated, as is now clear in the light of technological progress and stricter legislation, meaning traditional business models are increasingly coming up against their limits. Only secure, user- friendly and...

In sectors using information and communications technology (ICT) as platform for innovation, the meaning of the term 'work' is undergoing fundamental change. New technologies are helping to accommodate employees' individual preferences regarding working hours and location. In this respect,...

The market for information and communication technologies is changing rapidly. Products and applications that used to be completely separate are becoming almost interchangeable. Sweeping change lies ahead in voice and data telephony: the fixed-line telephone network faces new competition from...

One important determinant of the speed and success of transition will be the efficiency of transformation and development of the infrastructure sectors. A great deal of attention has been paid to issues such as privatisation, restructuring, user prices, and terms of access in these sectors,...

It became clear early on that UMTS, also known as 3G (third-generation mobile phone systems), would be a key technology for profitable markets of the future. However UMTS technology offers some major advantages that can be demonstrated under laboratory conditions but which it will not be...

The manufacturing sectors of less developed countries (LDCs) have traditionally been relatively protected. They have also been subject to heavy regulation, much of which is biased in favor of large enterprises. Accordingly, it is often argued that manufacturers in these countries perform poorly...

Efficient broadband technologies such as DSL, fibre, cable modem, powerline communications, UMTS, WLAN or WiMax are powerful locational factors for an economy. Europe in particular should promote broadband communication further to tap into its growth potential. But given the prevailing ownership...

In its first steps toward reform of its huge and hugely important railway system, the Russian Federation has begun corporate restructuring of a kind favored by many students of railway reform throughout the world: some kind of separation of the entity controlling the infrastructure from the...