SIB Council on Future Internet Technologies (SIB-FIT)

Scope:

The SIB-FIT covers activities related to the development of innovative Information and Communication technologies for the Future Internet.

Keywords:

Future internet, communication networks, service platforms, wireless and optical networks, cloud computing, Internet-of-Things, research and experimentation, computer science, education, startups

Key Challenges:

• Promote a holistic, innovation-centric perspective on the development of Future Internet technologies
• Steer the development of Future Internet technologies in order to reinforce its vital role as innovation catalyst in all industrial sectors
• Promote innovation in ICT technologies by gathering all stakeholders involved in the ICT innovation cycle
• Promote the development of a sustainable, “green” Future Internet, able to answer to societal and environmental needs
• Provide a forum for the discussion of best practices related to the experimentation, testing and adoption of innovative ICT solutions and services
• Connect communities working on advanced ICT technologies with those interested in applying them in order to devise innovative solutions for vertical sectors

Mission:

The Internet has become the nervous system of the 21^st century globalised society and economy. Its role has moved from a mere communication infrastructure transporting raw data to that of key enabler of a sustainable development in all industrial sectors. In order to cope with and reinforce its central role as innovation booster, new ICT technologies and solutions are being ceaselessly developed.

The goal of the Future Internet SIB Council (SIB-FIT) is to promote, in an innovation-centric perspective, the development and adoption of advanced solutions in the ICT domain. This will be achieved by promoting a forum where all relevant stakeholders and actors in the ICT domain are represented, fostering the creation of initiatives able to integrate the whole innovation cycle in specific ICT fields. The SIB-FIT activities will be undertaken in strict coordination with other, more application-oriented SIBs, in order to ensure that the Future Internet will be able to respond to the needs coming from vertical sectors.

Description:

The role of the Internet as backbone of our global society and economy is a well-recognized fact. The Internet has shown to have a huge potential as booster of socio-economic development and progress. Access to the Internet means nowadays access to a global knowledge base, to a global market and to advanced services. The joint effect of these three aspects is to facilitate the arising of more dynamic societies and economies, able to provide better welfare and living conditions to their citizens.

In order to keep up with its vital role as global information backbone, the Internet is undergoing innovation at high pace. New technologies and services are being introduced on a continuous basis, in order to keep up with the demands and requirements of users and industries. In particular, a new set of ICT technologies are currently being developed, which aim at strengthening the catalyst role of the Internet. The ensembles of such technologies and their applications to various industrial sectors are usually gathered under the ‘Future Internet’ umbrella term.

The Future Internet will include faster and greener communication and networking technologies, which will be used to build a pervasive digital infrastructure. The border of such an infrastructure will blur into physical objects, which will be seamlessly integrated into this global, all-encompassing system (‘Internet-of-Things’). The Future Internet will integrate computing and storage in a native form, becoming a ubiquitous platform through which users can access advanced services that are physically running and executed remotely, ‘in the Cloud’. The Future Internet will support real-time services as required by some industrial sectors, and will natively support the system of social relationship of its users.

The SIB-FIT will bring together all the stakeholders and actors in the Future Internet innovation cycle, with the twofold goal of  fostering innovation in the ICT domain as well as to ensure that future ICT is able to sustain innovation in all application domains covered within the EAI framework. In such respect, the SIB-FIT will play a catalyst role for all other SIBs, ensuring that Future Internet technologies will respond to the arising needs of the global society and economy.