The year that has just started is expected to provide more exciting developments on the local technology scene, with some spill-overs from 2013.
This year the government is expected to publish two very important strategies, one for the digital economy and the other for research and innovation. The work on both strategies began last year with preparation of the drafts and consultations.
The Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA) and the Malta Communications Authority (MCA) have been working on the national ICT strategy for the Maltese digital economy for the period 2014-2018. The strategy will focus on three primary themes: the digital citizen; digital business; and digital government. Actions and timeframes will be proposed and eventually put into motion. This will replace the now-outdated SmartIsland Strategy which only covered until 2010.
On the other hand, the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) has been working on an updated Research and Innovation Strategy 2020 following the publication of a first draft and numerous consultations with public and private stakeholders last year. The updated draft includes thematic areas identified through the smart specialisation process undertaken in the past months. The final document is expected to be published in the next few months.
Another area where important developments are expected is ultra-fast broadband internet access, or so-called next-generation access (NGA), through fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) access. This issue has been on the agenda for the last few years now, when the government made a public statement to the effect that Malta was giving access on a national scale. However, nothing concrete materialised, even though the European Union continues to push its member states to adopt strategies and support this kind of internet access to support economic growth.
The MCA, as regulator, is working on this initiative and some announcements are expected this year. In the meantime, internet access speeds on mobile devices will continue to grow thanks to investment in the 4G (LTE) mobile broadband services.
Vodafone was the first local operator to commercially launch the service in selected zones in Malta last November, and Go is expected to follow suit. The other national operator, Melita, is adopting a different route and is currently testing a widespread broadband access service across the country based on Wi-Fi.
These developments have to be considered with the EU’s new telecommunication regulations framework being prepared, the EU’s new Horizon 2020 research funding and the Digital Agenda with specific targets that have to be met by member states. Another important development concerns mobile roaming tariffs, as the EU is decidedly moving to abolish roaming tariffs and bring down the price of mobile service abroad to the same level as in the home country of the user.
i-Tech has dubbed the year 2013 in terms of technology in Malta as “the year of the tablet”, after these mobile devices got the limelight in the electoral campaign earlier in the year. The promised pilot projects to implement tablets in Maltese schools are scheduled to start this year, with a view to testing various solutions before the national implementation starting from Year 4 of state, church and independent schools.
The tablets initiative was one of the few technology-related measures mentioned in Budget 2014 presented in November. Other measures include support for the new Life Sciences Park and creative hub in San Ġwann and the interactive science centre being planned by MCST in Kalkara. Work on these will continue this year.
Back to tablets and mobile devices, the pace of innovation is expected to continue unabated here with new devices coming out this year. Google’s wearable device called Glass is expected to be commercially launched this year, while more wearable smart devices like smart watches are expected to enter the market. These will be supported by the faster internet access speeds on mobile devices mentioned earlier.
More areas where growth is expected to be registered is the use of social media by Maltese businesses, and the increased adoption of the so-called ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) where employees use their lifestyle device for work, and services on the so-called ‘cloud’.