The Network Society - University of Massachusetts Amherst

378 The Network Society
incentives for procurement of broadband access, which will help to
stimulate supply.
Operators looking for revenues through the provision of new interactive
services will have to find partnerships from outside the telecommunications
sector to create and deliver these innovations. But many
challenges need to be overcome. Here I mention just two; security
and spam.
Always-on connections make us more vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
A new European Network and Information Security Agency, ENISA,
is been set up in Greece. And the European Union is seriously
addressing the fight against spam. Legislation is in place. It gives legal
certainty which is the necessary precondition to combat spam. But
legislation alone is not enough. The competent authorities in the EU
member states need the necessary resources to effectively trace spammers
and prosecute them. Industry needs to change marketing practices
and continue implementing technical solutions such as filtering
and secure servers.
i2010
My successor, Viviane Reding, is about to launch a new initiative
i2010. The aim is to make sure that Europe gets the full benefits in
terms of prosperity, jobs and growth. This will be done by:
• Promoting a borderless European information space with the
aim of establishing an internal market for electronic communications
and digital services
• Stimulating innovation through investment in research, the
development and deployment in ICT and by encouraging the
industrial application of ICT
• Making the European Information Society as inclusive and
accessible as possible.
I am very happy to note that the Information Society remains highly
on the agenda and that the new Commission is committed. Ms.
Reding recently explained the main priorities.