Drivers and opportunities for Internet experimentation 2018-2020

The technologies and systems that make up the present day Internet didn't arise out of a grand plan; the Internet simply evolved thanks to the many and diverse users and communities that have tried out and implemented new ideas over the years. The Next Generation Internet will be no different - it will evolve on the basis of experimentation, not forward planning.

Next Generation Experimentation IT Innovation is working closely with the European Commission (EC) and collaborators to understand the opportunities for research and innovation driving the Next Generation Internet (NGI).

In our recent whitepaper, we present the challenges ahead for the NGI, and provide policy recommendations to the EC for consideration within future Horizon 2020 work programmes on how open experimentation platforms can engage citizens and companies in finding solutions, activating business markets and addressing important societal challenges.

Experience tells us that the Internet evolves through widely adopted experimentation that engages active users and communities rather than through purely technological advances invented in closed laboratories. Individuals and companies use larger experiments as a way to build the knowledge and necessary insights to verify and validate theories and ideas, and as the basis for creating viable, acceptable and innovative solutions driving benefits to Internet ecosystems and their stakeholders. The whitepaper discusses the importance of experimentation in defining the Next Generation Internet, the impact that European experimental programmes, such as FIRE, have made, and identifies the challenges that must be addressed at European level to maximise the potential for Europe to deliver technological advances having global impact.

To find out more read the white paper:

Next Generation Internet Experimentation: Drivers Transforming Next Generation Internet Research and Experimentation Michael Boniface et al.