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Things are moving in the world of automotive. Now parterships are under way to provide the necessary infrastructure for electric vehicles (at this time, no one is talking about hydrogen any more). What will be the impact on the automotive industry? And what about the gasoline distribution industry?

The increase of data traffic due to audiovisual content is straining Internet networks, highlighting another strong complementarity between infrastructure and content. The problem is, that most of this content is associated to a few companies (such as Google), who bear the (advertising) fruits of this growth and does not share enough of its costs. What kind of arrangements between players in the value network will create a sustainable model?

An interesting paper on the future of mobility, merging transportation science with computing. Maybe mobility will not rely that much on cars (i.e. the product) as much as on the intelligent trasport infrastructure of the future (i.e. the service)

Actual usage of electric cars is still a big unknown. Will "range anxiety" be an issue? Where and when will people recharge their vehicles? These uncertainties are critical, given the huge investment that will go in defining future dominant design and infrastructure.

It sounds obvious, but it is always appropriate to remember, that public policy can have a strong role in nudging the market towards technological solutions, especially during transitions times between paradigms. The case of electric vehicles is interesting, since you can find both issues related to regulation (e.g. emission-based standards, and traffic rules), taxation (e.g. fuel tax, tax incentives) and infrastructure (e.g. recharging stations )

One of the first examples of the Internet of Things, i.e. using the idea of the Web 2.0 (i.e. user-generated content) but with objects providing the information. Disruptive? Potentially yes, because it kills the need for expensive dedicated infrastructure. Of course, an interesting idea but you must also think about what will the sustainable business models be.

Ericsson is starting to supply infrastructure to (digital) TV broadcasters. An example of how radical innovation - in this case the shift to digital technology - leads to industrywide effects - in this case convergence between telecoms and broadcasting.

German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel is trying to mark the future of the electric and hybrid vehicles founding the "National Platform for Electric Mobility" - a new alliance dedicated to promoting sustainable mobility. A clear objective: she wants to take electric mobility out of its niche model status and become the market leader for a new type of sustainable mobility by 2018. This strategy is planned by the German federal government, which would like to to promote electro-mobility and to see about one million electric vehicles on the roads by 2020. It's a clear way to force the German carmakers for reshaping mobility. The market needs innovations that are intelligently coordinated and networked, from the engines themselves to a reliable infrastructure (charging points) and well-trained experts who can deal with highly complex technologies.