Mr
Erkki Liikanen Member of
the European Commission, responsible for
Ladies and
Gentlemen,
I am delighted to
participate at this event today to acknowledge the arrival of the next
generation of Internet technology. With the deployment of the new Internet
Protocol across global research and education networks we are taking a further
step to expanding the scope and integration of the Internet into our everyday
lives.
IPv6
IPv6 is a
fundamental technology for the future of the deployment of Internet in general,
which has been largely promoted in the context of the 5th Framework Programme
and in the context of broader European policies like our eEurope
Action Plan.
Based on the
experience gained with IPv4, IPv6 is seen as a corner stone for the deployment
of '3G and beyond' technology. The progress is such that we have to consider
IPv6 as a new generation Internet Protocol.
Amongst other
things, IPv6 allows almost anything to be connected to the Internet
permanently. Security mechanisms and improved support for Quality of Service
are part of the protocol.
This opens the
door to a vast new field of applications and services.
e-Infrastructures:
Empowering the user
The
e-Infrastructure concept was proposed in the 6th Framework Programme to create
a vision for the next generation of ICT Research
Infrastructures in
e-Infrastructures should be able
to provide the most advanced fully integrated communication and information
processing services to researchers in
Due to the
requirements in terms of Quality of Service and security and the high number of
devices to be connected, IPv6 is one of the enabling technology factors for the
deployment of e-Infrastructures.
The next
generation ICT-infrastructures
The
e-Infrastructure concept is a concrete implementation of a new model of shared
use of computing and data resources across diverse technological, administrative
and national domains.
The concept, with
parallels to the concept of CyberInfrastructure in
The main pillars
for this effort will be the next generation of high speed Research Networks in
At the same time
the experience gained with the deployment of e-Infrastructures for research
will have a fundamental impact in the future deployment of commercial networks.
IPv6 and EU policies
The work done in
validating IPv6 through large scale testbeds and
towards the emergence of e-Infrastructures is fundamental to the deployment of
the European Research Area.
The policy
initiatives launched, such as the IPv6 National and European Task Forces and
the Reflection Group on e-Infrastructures, have succeeded in creating closer
links and synergies between European and national efforts. Given the global
context of research, the global deployment of e-Infrastructures is a must and
has an enormous potential to promote strong international cooperation.
This meeting is
actually a very important sign of the strong dynamism and commitment of the
communities responsible to deploying IPv6 empowered infrastructures for
research across the world. It will to offer an overview of the developments on
IPv6 and future information and communication infrastructures.
It will help to
place IPv6 firmly on the map and provide a clear marker of a winning technology
that will transform and enrich our society.