Information Technology in AUSTRIA

Government Policy Regarding IT in Austria

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Major government R&D initiatives and programs

The Austrian National Host

Started in January 1995, the Austrian National Host (ANH) is a government initiative to improve the telecommunications and information technology infrastructures. It is sponsored by the Ministry of Public Economy and Transport (BMoeWV), the Ministry of Science and Research (BMWF), and the Austrian Bureau of international Research and Technology Cooperation (BIT). The national host idea was launched by the EU Commission and created a new dynamism towards a committed private-public partnership between network operators, service providers, industry, research and user communities. This program is designed to contribute to the ecology, employment, economic development, small- and medium-sized enterprises, knowledge based industries, education and research, culture, regional and social cohesion, European integration and cooperation between the public and the private sector.

This initiative calls for one national host in Austria with access to all who want to participate (network operators, service providers, research institutes, companies, users, etc.). The host will be administered by a non-profit organization under Austrian law. The main objectives: include the stimulation of the development of advanced telecommunication technologies and services in Austria aligned with EU objectives, the identification of potential users, the increase of understanding of the social impact and the capabilities and shortcomings of advanced telecommunication technologies. User communities which participate in the ANH project include the academic and research community, architecture, banking and insurance, culture and arts, education, high performance computing, meteorology, public administration, the Austrian PTT, publishing, technology and business parks, tourism, and transportation.

The ANH is based on broadband communication technologies, including SDH, PDH, ATM, MAN(DQDB), N-ISDN, Frame Relay, and other state-of-the-art communication technologies. It is Austrian version of US Vice President Al Gore's information highway program, National Information Infrastructure (NII). The European Union also supports such plans and founded the Information Society Project Office (ISPO), calling for major government investment in the telecommunication infrastructure.

The Austrian Telekom Initiative

The Ministry of Public Economy and Transport has also established the Austrian Telecom Initiative which was established to develop initiatives in order to bring Austria into the information society. The initiative consists of working groups with members from politics, business, science, administration and user groups. The following topics are being discussed:

The development of and competition in the telecommunications industry
The goal is to identify how fair and transparent competition can be ensured among the providers, how services not provided in a competitive environment can be regulated, and the regulation of data flow and liability of providers.

The development of the telecommunications infrastucture
This group analyzes the current situation of the Austrian telecommunications infrastructure and its local availability. It also aims to identify alternative networks for telecommunication services and corporate networks.

Stimulation of usage of telecommunication services
The objectives are to identify initiatives to stimulate the development of the spreading of communications and information technologies as well as the parties involved. The coordination of public and private R&D initiatives and their financing are also discussed. The group will establish a list to prioritize the most promising sectors and applications.

Telecommunications and attraction of business
This group analyzes the role of telecommunications in business' decision to locate industrial production or service industries in the country. It also aims to identify inhibitors on the supply side of telecommunications (prices, quality, service, availability).

Government plans in R&D and focus on IT

The ANH supports various R&D activities, such as:

interactive digital multimedia services

high-performance networking

intelligence in networks and service engineering

quality, security, and safety of communications services and systems

cooperation with other programs and policies

The goals of the National Information Infrastructure (NII) in the United States are of similar nature. NII plans to create a seamless web of communication networks, computers, databases, and consumer electronics that will make vast amounts of information available to the users.

Another important research initiative is conducted by FORSCHUNG AUSTRIA. This R&D park is a co-operative venture to help guarantee future competitiveness in the European market, and also provide Austria with important technological know-how. It combines Austria's three major non-academic research center - the Federal Research and Testing Center - Arsenal, Vienna, the Research Centre Seibersdorf and Joanneum Research, Graz which in its largest division, Electronics and Information Processing, works in the fields of software engineering and data processing, electronics, sensor technology and space research.

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