Main News
Secure 5G networks: Commission endorses EU toolbox and sets out next steps
The European Commission endorsed the joint toolbox of mitigating measures agreed by EU Member States to address security risks related to the rollout of 5G, the fifth-generation of mobile networks. This follows the European Council's call for a concerted approach to the security of 5G and the ensuing Commission Recommendation of March 2019. Member States have since identified risks and vulnerabilities at national level and published a joint EU risk assessment. Through the toolbox, the Member States are committing to move forward in a joint manner based on an objective assessment of identified risks and proportionate mitigating measures. With its Communication adopted, the Commission is launching relevant actions within its competence and is calling for key measures to be put in place by 30 April 2020.
Discover the new website on Standards + Innovation!
In a global economy increasingly based on knowledge, it is fundamental to be able to drive change and innovate. Standards contribute to the success of new technology: they support each stage of the innovation process and ensure the fast access of innovative products and technologies to the market. With this belief, one of CEN and CENELEC’s priorities is to improve the relation between the research and innovation (R&I) community and standardization, to increase the possibility of synergies and foster collaboration across the board. This is the objective of the BRIDGIT II project, as the recent European Conference ‘Boosting Innovation through Standards’, which on 13 November 2019 put together the standardization and the research worlds, has shown.
As part of the project, the new website standardsplusinnovation.eu has just been released. The website will serve as the main entry point for researchers and innovators to the world of standardization. Together with providing information on how standards can help innovation and research throughout its different development paths, from funding to market access, the website also presents some inspiring success stories of researchers and innovators.
To announce the launch of the Standards+Innovation website, CEN, CENELEC and the other project partners are launching an online communication campaign that in the coming weeks will showcase the benefit of standards.
Europe Commission presents strategies for data and Artificial Intelligence
The European Commission unveils its ideas and actions for a digital transformation that works for all, reflecting the best of Europe: open, fair, diverse, democratic and confident. It presents a European society powered by digital solutions that put people first, opens up new opportunities for businesses, and boosts the development of trustworthy technology to foster an open and democratic society and a vibrant and sustainable economy. Digital is a key enabler to fighting climate change and achieving the green transition. The European data strategy and the policy options to ensure the human-centric development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) presented today are the first steps towards achieving these goals.
The Commission unveiled its vision for a digital transformation that works for everyone. This includes a White Paper (PDF) proposing a framework for Artificial Intelligence based on excellence and trust. One particular challenge identified by the Commission is the extremely fast development of AI. Policymakers are struggling to monitor the AI landscape and analyze its uptake and impact to know where and how their intervention could tip the balance towards desirable outcomes for society.
ETSI Issues Two Major Standards for Emergency Calls: Next Generation 112 and Advanced Mobile Location
ETSI’s Emergency Communication Special Committee has recently released two major specifications, ETSI TS 103 479, for NG112, the next generation of European emergency services and ETSI TS 103 625, for the specific Advanced Mobile Location function. AML is already implemented in 22 countries worldwide following the publication of the first ETSI technical report TR 103 393.
NEXT GENERATION OF EMERGENCY CALLS: ETSI TS 103 479 specifies the core elements of the architecture for network independent access to emergency services, enabling interoperability of implementation for the Next Generation access to emergency services. Next Generation 112 (NG112) architecture enables multimedia communications (text, video, together with location or additional data) which is not possible on the current phone-based system. This will benefit citizens in emergency situations as well as emergency responders, network providers and other stakeholders.
ADVANCED MOBILE LOCATION: As more than 70% of emergency calls come from a mobile phone in Europe, the Advanced Mobile Location (AML) technology is essential to provide the most accurate location of the caller. With AML the phone's location capabilities (making use of GNSS, WIFI and cellular network information) are activated when an emergency number is dialed. The location obtained is then sent to a location endpoint managed by, or on behalf of, a national emergency service. These technologies can provide a location precision as good as 5m outdoors (and averaging to within circular areas of ~25 m radius for indoor locations), a significant improvement on existing cell coverage provided by mobile networks, which average (across the UK as an example) circular areas of about 1,75 km radius.