4.1.1. Service provisions

4.1.2. Satisfaction of needs in communications services

The concept of supply, economically speaking, indicates the available quantity of products and services that are ready to be sold. The concept cannot be separated from demand, which is the quantity of products or services that consumers are willing to purchase. The confrontation between these two concepts shows the state of the market for a given product or service, and leads to prices being set.

According to the content of economic and political international agreements, which have been concluded, national regulatory bodies are tasked with watching for any abuse of dominant positions between market players and controlling the “fair and reasonable pricing level of communications services”. In these conditions, network operators are obliged to adjust their offers according to the most obvious needs of their customers, which is not always consistent with high profitability of the available resources. Competition between operators leads them to a certain standardization of their offers, sometimes to the detriment of research and innovation.

As an example, one French scientific research body constructed its own computer services, adapted to its own activities and security constraints. This service provision is available as follows:

• – secure Cloud: virtual servers on demand and according to requirements, secure hosting of websites, bulk data storage and automatic saving of workstations;
• – integrated messaging: modern features, shared, secured and integrated into other daily tools for greater ease and performance;
• – portal on a secure collaborative platform: dedicated to researchers, managers and their external partners, as well as administrative and operational bodies;
• – sharing and nomadism: synchronized multistation access to personalized files and secure “Dropbox” sharing;
• – individual videoconferencing: from workstations or mobile devices, with interactive document sharing and display management.

In this way, the computer service of this center of activity has been “custom” made, and for a specific purpose, with the assistance of software adapted to its own needs and in conjunction with the connections available on the Internet. Subject to proper coordination with the company’s Director of Computer Services, the task of the network operator is reduced to a minimum. The cost of accomplishing this is likely to be quite high and the experience gained remains within the company. The relative levels of security obtained in these two particular cases cannot be compared.

This example is intended to illustrate that balancing needs in communications services can only be custom made through the Director of Computer Services of the company itself. The optimum communications system in a hospital, a technical research center or a large retail space can only be best planned and achieved by the services of a company’s Director of Computer Services. The link between a company’s IT and its communications requires close collaboration between the company and the network access provider.

4.1.3. The long tail

The concept of the long tail was introduced in 2004 by Chris Anderson, an American economic journalist [AND 06]. It concerns the statistical distribution of sales of a product or service. In a way, this expression shows that sales can be considered in two categories; one focusing on a highly responsive but small number of customers (the left part of the diagram), and the other, greater in number, but moving more slowly to a total amount of purchases, which is higher than those of the first group (the right part). Manufacturers must therefore decide, from the conception of their product or service, which part of the market they wish to interest in principle. Customers faithful to a brand and technological devotees are found in the first part of the curve, while the “followers” watch the market and make their purchases through different means over a longer period of time. These two types of sales require different approaches and distribution methods.

Chris Anderson believes that some low demand products can collectively form a larger part of the market than best sellers, if the suitable distribution channels are able to make them known. When the cost of storage and distribution is low, marketing expenditure is also reduced. If, on the other hand, logistical costs are high, marketing cannot last very long. This concept, which supports sales systems on the Internet where the connection, referencing and dynamism of search engines are key, has been taken over by “barbarians” and will be mentioned later (sections 4.5 and 5.3.3.2).

4.1.4. Monopoly, duopoly or competition

According to the current international rules, competition is essential to market dynamics and a vibrant commercial atmosphere. As of 2016, the European Union still has 155 network operators and reconciliation operations are underway in Germany, Ireland and even in the United Kingdom, in the hope of reducing this number to 140, which is still much too high in comparison with the United States or China. It is easier to invest when there are fewer competitors. Yet, it is impossible to reconcile investment or innovation with pricing levels that are too low. The European communications services market is too fragmented, being led by precarious players who tomorrow could find themselves dependent on non-European players. At the beginning of the 1980s, the European Commission wished to set up, at the European level, one or two large network operators with a European (or global) dimension. It is hoped that new positive developments could soon occur to allow the European Commission to achieve this objective.

4.1.5. Billing the data rate

Technically, it is possible to increase the flow of a network’s incoming and outgoing connections, as well as the traffic’s main features. The billing and regulation of these parameters establish the basic rules. Each of the applications currently available on the Internet responds to the typical parameters, and billing the data rate would signify the penalization of some applications for the benefit of others and the end of the concept of “Net neutrality” (see section 4.2.5).

“Over half of the traffic routed through Internet access networks in France is issued by just five independent systems, corresponding to service providers, hosts, or technical intermediaries, across the 70,000 which make up the Internet. The partner at the direct traffic’s origin can be identified, unless it acts under the name of a third party. The level of P2P traffic cannot be assessed” (Arcep).

Within the current framework, the measurement of real traffic cannot be arranged and a pricing system according to volume would risk penalizing the small players in the digital economy.

4.2.1. Responsibilities of a country’s main operator

In every country, the State must rely on an operator for the necessary technical resources to ensure proper usage of its communications service and, furthermore, if there is no other option, to support its economy. A country’s main operator is subject, in principle, to clear obligations, including:

• – tariff obligations related to geographic averaging;
• – the obligation to offer reduced tariffs to the disabled or people in need;
• – the obligation to have payphones for public use;
• – the obligation to provide an information service and a directory in both printed and electronic forms;
• – the obligation to ensure universal public service;
• – monitoring of international standardization;
• – organizing vocational training in communications systems.

All of these obligations have a cost, even when they sometimes offer a slight competitive advantage. This feature must be taken into consideration in financial balance sheets.

4.2.2. Public service tasks and universal service

Communications regulations cover a set of measures whose aim lies in the desire to protect the consumer. These measures have evolved over time. In the 1950s, the public service tasks entrusted to the French telecommunications service included universal service (complete service for the territory), continuous service (continuous availability of staff in the event of a serious occurrence) and access to emergency services. In 1996, these tasks were redefined and the operator Orange was asked to adopt a limited universal service for fixed-line telephony only (mobile telephony was not included), which focused on the following points:

• – connection and fixed telephone service at an “affordable” rate for voice, fax and reduced rate data usages;
• – management of an information service (118 612 in France);
• – providing a departmental directory;
• – access to emergency telephone services (firefighters, police, etc.);
• – providing dedicated services and facilities for disabled people;
• – installation and maintenance of payphones for public use (presently limited in number due to the development of mobile networks).

As of 2016, in most countries all of these considerations have altered further due to technological development and uses. Payphones should have disappeared by the end of 2017. Two arguments have been put forward to justify this decision in France: maintenance costs, which are close to 8 million euros per year, and an average usage, which in 2014 had gone down to < 1 min/day and per booth.

In France, public service activities in telecommunications, intended to serve the public interest, fall into the following two categories:

• – state communications services, which are essential to the functioning of public institutions and administrations;
• – community-controlled communications services (infrastructure, waterways, ports, airports, hospitals and public education).

The concept of public service is guided by the “subjective” approach to the Council of State’s jurisprudence. It covers the willingness to ensure, whatever the circumstances, uninterrupted service offered to all citizens without exception and to compensate for the shortcomings of market offers (without proposing competition). On the other hand, the French definition of universal service has been considered broader than the European vision [NGU 00].

4.2.3. People with disabilities and under-age children

Public facilities must be accessible to people with disabilities. Communications services, in particular, must follow this arrangement. Special terminals have been designed for people who are blind, deaf or hard of hearing. Communications services designed for deaf people or those with speech impairments are also operational among some network operators.

In the United States, Web companies must respect the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which forbids them from collecting personal information on young people under 13 years of age without the permission of their parents. In theory, the majority of social networks do not allow users to be under 13 years old. In Europe, this rule is not reflected in national regulations. In France, the prior consent of parents is only required in cases where a website collects a photograph of a minor, or uses his or her personal data for advertising purposes. At the end of 2015, the European Council suggested that this age limit should be raised to 16 and to leave it to each member state to choose the age of consent, between 13 and 16 years of age. A European document on data protection in Europe should be adopted by mid-2016, and then written into the different laws of member states.

The ISO/CEI Guide 71:2014 provides suggestions for standardization on how to handle demands and recommendations relating to accessibility, which, directly or indirectly, target systems used in computing and communications. The ITU and the ETSI have also drafted standards on this topic. While one group of people with disabilities may benefit from new facilities in communications practices, there is presently still much to be done to make these upgrades more widely available.

The International Bureau for Children’s Rights (IBCR), an international non-governmental organization (NGO) located in Canada responsible for protecting the rights of children, is calling for public authorities to exercise greater vigilance with regard to the Internet. It has mentioned that, “the fast expansion of the Internet has not only made it easier to buy and sell sexual and pornographic services, but it has also created an environment favorable to sexual interactions. The Internet has become a place where children explore their burgeoning sexuality. Furthermore, the Internet has broadened the scope for sexual exploitation of children by facilitating their direct and anonymous contact with adult predators”.

With regard to the content of public services available on the Internet, regulatory bodies (including the CNIL in France) are demanding that specialized websites protect the personal data of children aged between 6 and 12, as well as of teenagers. The websites accessed by young people variously include social networks, games, educational sites, academic support sites, TV channels and news sites. Often, the websites visited are not suitable for the age of the children. On the other hand, the vast majority of websites collect personal data (IP address, location, email address, geographic coordinates), and a minority of these sites provide the option of deleting personal addresses. The majority of these websites are not suggesting any monitoring measures for young people, or for parents to ask for their agreement. The French body CNIL has underlined the shortcomings of monitoring and parental control in this area.

The WHO wants use of the suffix “.health” in electronic addressing to be associated with the establishment of justifiable codes of conduct by effective and applicable accountability mechanisms under the relevant government authority. These codes of conduct should correspond to all concerns related to healthcare on the Internet. They deal with the quality and reliability of sources of information on health; trust in products, services and practices; and combating illegal activities and deceptive, malicious and underhand practices.

The Swiss “Health On the Net” (HON) foundation guarantees the annual certification of health-based websites, founded on respect for deontological principles, which include the reliability and credibility of medical and health-based information. The French National Authority for Health (NAH – Haute Autorité de Santé) is planning to suggest “methodological reference points to editors of health-based Internet sites and Internet users for access to reliable information”. However, the NAH has not negotiated any convention with the HON foundation since 2013. This project should therefore be constructed in tandem with healthcare professionals, public authorities, users and editors. Nonetheless, in 2014, close to 882 French-language Internet sites (out of over 3,000) were still receiving the benefits of “HON Code” certification (www.hon.ch/).

The lack of Internet governance by a responsible authority currently leaves Internet users without information on serious aspects of the sites they visit and on the possibility of all directly accessible content being available (see section 5.1.1.5).

4.2.4. Security of transactions

Since Edward Snowden’s revelations about the PRISM scandal in 2013 (section 4.6) [BAT 14], everyone knows that the Internet is a network designed for easy communication, but that it provides no security. Every year, the press reveals dozens of significant breaches of personal or banking databases, due to the permeability of the network and the lack of precautions taken by managers and Internet users. Currently, the Internet remains a network on which security is not guaranteed and it consequently falls to users to take responsibility, pending new technical measures or the availability of more effective individual protection.

The NSA maintains that its actions are entirely within the law, with regard to the wiretapping and surveillance of the Internet and mobile networks. All countries are victims of computer espionage and the majority of American businesses are victims of cyberattacks. Most of these crimes are often little known among the public. Big Data companies, which stock and manage large volumes of data, are the most exposed to cyberattacks. Tomorrow, the Internet of Things could become the target of organized cybercriminals. It belongs to all businesses to estimate the risk precisely and protect themselves against this threat.

Protections against wiretapping are faultless if they are comprehensively carried out, but, in such cases, the content of the message can only be intercepted through possession of the data encryption key. If it is a case of terrorists preparing a guerilla attack, the authorities trained to monitor messages will not be able to decode them. All that they could obtain would be a scrambled message. Policy makers must continue to question cybersecurity experts to find a response to this situation.

In France, since the end of 2015, the legal branch of the national police has been receiving the assistance of a unit dedicated to combating all forms of Internet-related criminality. This unit is concerned with combating digital crime, meaning that it focuses on terrorism, Internet fraud, computer piracy and bank card piracy. This unit carries out research on the conventional Web or on the “Darkweb”. It also handles many issues linked to the Blockchain with regard to smartphone applications or messages hidden in online video games.

4.2.5. Internet neutrality

4.2.6. Respect for personal data

In each of their actions, citizens leave traces of their activity and these traces can be stored by the employees of popular bodies (post office, insurance, shopping). By the same token, Internet users leave on the network traces of their addresses, personal data and visiting patterns for different sites. The permeability and automatic memory of the Internet means that it is easy to profile each Internet user and use these profiles for marketing operations or market research.

The detailed information of Internet users can be harnessed for competitive purposes by marketing professionals, insurance agents or the managers of GAFA companies (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon) and social networks. The door is open to innovative and competitive action in these areas. As it happens, Internet users are no more the owners of their personal data than the banks they trust or their mutual health insurance plan. The paradox lies in the fact that, conversely, Internet users, despite everything, have the advantage of being able to use their personal data to enhance their community’s wealth of healthcare information. Their medical history is useful to others like themselves, just as their consumption habits assist in the organization of a coordinated regional supply system. While their shopping habits are known to providers, Internet users are in some way protected against the actions of impersonators who seek to use these factors to steal from users. Through the information stored, banks can uncover deceptions and block any attempted fraud. In reality, the discussion lies between the potential misdeeds of an artificial “Big Brother” and the paternalism of a benevolent “Godfather”.

The priority status afforded to client-oriented services considered to be “profitable” is a constant feature in free trade. The novelty brought by the Internet is linked to the dynamism and power of the computer tools used, which have revolutionized habits and which have significant storage and information management capabilities. It is therefore necessary for Internet users to consider both the positive and negative aspects of their personal data being used by sites that they frequently visit.

The discussion has already continued into 2016 and all evidence points toward past abuses being corrected by more restrictive future legislation. The CNIL has recently given Facebook a 3-month deadline to stop storing the data of people who do not have an account on that social network. Several regulators in the European Union have begun inquiries on Facebook’s actions toward protecting the privacy of individuals.

Within the framework of Internet neutrality, the Indian communications regulatory authority (TRAI) has forbidden mobile networks from offering free differentiated access to the social network Facebook. There is no reason, according to the TRAI, to offer data services for different prices on the same network.

Moreover, Facebook, due to its paternalistic attitudes, has suffered setbacks in other countries. It is intermittently blocked in several countries in Asia and the Middle East because its content is deemed discriminatory with regard to religion. The security of accounts and personal data has been compromised. On the other hand, Facebook is contentious as it can cause disturbances due to people using it during working hours and frequent instances of rudeness from people witnessing irresponsible behavior. Finally, like most OTT, Facebook carries out undisguised tax evasion practices.

4.3.1. Currency and remote payment

4.3.2. Electronic trade

4.3.3. GAFA and online sales

Online sales greatly interest the GAFA companies, innovative Internet players with considerable economic and political power, which have memorized the personal data of a large number of Internet users and acquired dominant positions in ICT markets and on the Internet. The GAFA companies help one another to promote their services or related goods created by their subsidiaries or associated companies.

Facebook (which alone is used by a billion users per day) and Google take up 25% of the time spent by Internet users on mobile applications. For its part, Facebook, which had a turnover of 12.5 billion dollars in 2014 (of which 78% was mobile advertising revenue with 2.5 million advertisers), is testing a new type of page that would allow products to be purchased. It has already tested a buy button in 2014, and it officially launched money transfers on its messaging application Messenger at the start of 2015.

Google has set up a feature allowing its users to purchase products directly through the results of searches made on mobile devices, without having to go to another merchant. Google’s economic model uses sponsored links paid for by businesses and on which commission is paid. This system, which works on desktop computers, mobile devices and tablets, is always highly successful.

4.3.4. Contactless payment

The system of remote payment with an NFC (near-field communication) payment card uses an NFC radio system, which is brought into play between the buyer’s card and the merchant’s terminal. One simple application, freely downloadable from the Internet, allows the confidential information contained on a bank card equipped with NFC technology to be accessed via an MSC-compatible smartphone. By placing the mobile telephone on the card, the card number and expiration date, and therefore the two pieces of information required for payment, are readable. Indeed, the MAC (message authentication code), intended to prove that the data come from a trusted third party, is poorly positioned in IT terms.

Moreover, the merchant’s terminal sends its user name through information exchanges with the body handling the payments. This connection is encrypted, but it can also be read on each printed receipt. Mistakenly, the password of the encrypted link is generally the same for all of the merchants connected to the same payment management organization. A hacker could uncover it using special software in a matter of seconds.

Use of payments without NFC contact can only move forward by increasing the amount of reading equipment in businesses and by strengthening security systems.

4.3.5. FinTech

New players have recently appeared in the digital sector – “FinTech” organizations. These are corporate law firms that combine their profession with basic expertise in cryptographic software, antifraud systems and bank card management. At the same time, they encompass four branches of regulation relating to payments, banking law, asset management and insurance, considered at the national, European and international levels.

Because of the Basel III agreements, which came into force in December 2010, FinTech organizations have been able to develop in Europe, as they are not subject to the same cumbersome regulations as banks. On some aspects, traditional banks, FinTech organizations, network operators and the GAFA companies find themselves in an increasingly international remote payment environment, either competing or obliged to accept a partnership. As both the competitors and allies of banks, FinTech organizations use the resources of banks’ client bases.

FinTech organizations are developing computer applications (API) that only require a small volume of data and allow fast access to massive amounts of information through the Cloud technology. It will likely be banks and FinTech organizations that, together, after examining the available solutions, will select the most suitable system for the biometric authentication required for secure bank transactions. Alternatively, they will at least determine the best usage of the Blockchain.

The aim is to reduce costs and timeframes, while increasing security and reducing losses in order to attract customers. A bank’s founding principle is to gather funds to finance its activities. However, the growth of players in this sector is causing instability in customer capital. The key concern of banks is currently to create customer loyalty to avoid losing funds.

The European Parliament is aiming to encourage market access among new players, in order to create competition, which will be beneficial to consumers. In the second version of the Directive on Payment Services (DPS2) from October 2015, the existence of FinTech organizations was validated, including an expert assessment consisting of collecting and collating the banking data of their customers in several financial establishments and using them in applications. In 2014, according to Venture Scanner, over a thousand FinTech organizations were active globally, four times more than in 2013.

4.4.1. P2P, Blockchain and Bitcoin

P2P communication is used to share files in P2P (BitTorrent, for music or video), for grid computing or for communication (streaming media, Skype and TeamViewer, for example). Downloading a file on a P2P network does not allow either the file’s creator or the users connected to the network to be identified, which is a security threat. The sharing of P2P files is replicated on a large number of hubs, which reduces the burden on demand and eases network traffic. This system makes censorship or hacker attacks more difficult. On the other hand, it is impossible to measure the volume of traffic (section 2.7.2.2).

It is said that, in 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto, a Japanese computer specialist, invented a piece of software (known as Blockchain) that is able to make exchanging virtual currency in Bitcoin faster and less expensive without the assistance of central or commercial banks. The Blockchain software is a secure software program with P2P encryption, which uses an information hash feature to encode information, with the elements being dated and stored in the memory of several sites simultaneously, thereby guaranteeing the authenticity of the message. The universal database records transactions and grows in a linear fashion in chunks known as “blocks”, forming the “Blockchain”. The Blockchain can also operate with encryption technologies. This allows the full traceability of transactions and prevents counterfeiting. All transactions on Blockchain are public and the user is not obliged to disclose his or her identity completely. The first application deals with transferring funds in units called “Bitcoin” between partners on the P2P network. Bitcoin has become at once a currency, a technology, a network and an open accounts book.

4.4.2. Alternative cryptocurrencies

In the past, thousands of instruments for monetary exchange were developed. Since 1980, several projects aiming to transform the world of economics have supported the creation of local, social and complementary currencies, known by the acronym “LETS” for “Local Exchange Trading System”. Some are based on the idea of the time used (the Canadian “accorderie”), others on solidarity and still others on promoting local development (of which “LETS” is an example). The roughly 200 LETS, which have been set up globally, still cannot be converted and can only be used in a 50 km radius [SER 99, KEN 08].

There are still several hundred digital currencies that claim to be usable as methods for virtual exchange without benefiting from State liability. “These virtual currencies circulate on P2P networks through cryptographic algorithms. Such currencies include Reddcoin, Litecoin, NXT, the Hayek (based on the value of a gram of gold) and Bitcoin. These trading tools can be classified according to their uses: socially oriented currencies, currencies intended for infrastructure, alternative currencies and currencies for targeted purchases” [FIE 14].

4.4.3. Other Blockchain applications

“Blockchains” allow financial transactions to be tracked through a decentralized IT system: incredibly powerful computers, known as miners, verify that transactions are real and that no imposter has slipped through. Transactions are confirmed by blocks and then added to the record, forming a chain or blocks, hence the name “Blockchains”. Every computer connected to the network hosts a copy of all of the exchanges made. Some user volunteers run a computer program to update the record and detect anomalies. The anonymity of users is protected.

Since 2014, the development of the North American Ethereum project, similar to the Bitcoin project, seems to indicate that it is possible to simplify all slow and expensive authentication procedures, such as those of insurance companies, notaries, Wall Street, online film distribution companies such as Netflix and Hulu, gaming platforms, messaging services such as Twitter, currency exchanges and so on. The total amount of Bitcoin transactions, supported by the current Blockchain software, is around 3.4 billion dollars.

Originally designed for Bitcoin, the Blockchain IT network appears destined for some development. The P2P principle can, according to the promoters of collaborative economics, create value, namely common, tangible or intangible property, without being compelled to ask for permission [BAU 15]. It could transform global finance by removing the “trusted third parties” who currently verify transactions (notaries, clearing houses and so on). Several possibilities are currently being assessed for activities that could connect order executions to the safeguarding of securities¹.

Several study groups (Agora, BitCongress and Swarm) are researching the possible use of Blockchain for online voting. Blockchain technology can also be used to keep track of the different owners of diamonds, boats, watches or works of art, any object which must be registered for life in order to be insured. This project is also an attempt to try and eradicate fraud and theft. Land registry management, patent administration, accounting, commercial “couponing”, music and journalism could use “Blockchain” systems.

Presently, Bitcoin only allows seven transactions per second and 10 min must elapse before beginning a new transaction. A new Bitcoin XT differentiates itself from the original version though a larger memory to store the traces of transactions, manage a greater number of transactions and increase network speed. However, the medium size of blocks has continued to increase and is currently approaching 700 kB. On the other side, networks are becoming unstable and endangering trade. Yet, network reliability was one of the main arguments in favor of Bitcoin. Without a significant agreement in 2016, this virtual currency risks disappearing in favor of other competing digital currencies (Ripple, Litecoin and so on).

Regulatory bodies are trying to understand technology and better grasp how it functions to guarantee the protection of citizens by creating the most suitable playing field. P2P technology is legal and increasingly used in various business models (European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/glossary). However, a warning on the usage of these currencies was given by the French Ministry of Finance in 2014².

The main problem is that virtual currencies such as Bitcoin are not issued or guaranteed by a suitably powerful authority, or by a government, for example. The disadvantages of Bitcoin – its instability and the appearance of unexpected technical problems – explain why it has not achieved the level of acceptance that venture capital companies expected.

4.4.4. Banks and P2P

4.6.1. Key features

Jean-Marc Vittori, columnist for economic daily Les Echos, characterizes digital technology according to the four major changes it has brought to the economy:

• – first, digital technology leads to a very wide choice offered by a multitude of web providers;
• – it reduces the number of intermediaries through disintermediation;
• – third breakage, some links in the participant’s chain are voluntary;
• – finally, if a digital service has a development cost, its dissemination is very inexpensive.

It is possible to add other considerations to these features attributed to digital technologies. Digital technology allows information to be distributed among a large number of players more quickly and widely. By the same token, digital technology sets off a large number of reactions and subsequent positive actions. When innovations are increasing in all areas and at a faster pace than before, this acceleration is due to a set of digital means that are now accessible to all. This spread of information is carried out at a very low cost and the number of barriers restricting access to information is also increasingly low.

There is no longer any public report available on the transition of the French publishing sector to digital technology. Each media group will undoubtedly carry out its own internal research on this development as digital technology allows economies of scale to be made, as well as savings in information storage and in production and labor costs. However, the transition from paper editions to entirely digital editions poses a large problem for daily and monthly newspapers with regard to the adaptation of their readers, be they connected through a fixed-line or mobile communication system. The website of the 2016 French press and media watchdog (l’Observatoire de la Presse et des Médias³ notes the very low circulation rates of digital newspapers (under 2%). For now, in 2016, so-called “digital” editions are still largely considered a specific service reserved for subscribers who are willing to be charged. Nonetheless, everyone can agree that progress in this area is slow but steady.

4.6.2. Preferred sectors

Nonetheless, the digital economy has only introduced its innovations in a liberal environment for specific activities and for a limited clientele. However, while its actions have been enough to slightly destabilize the highly organized markets for decades, it is the market’s margins that were large and some “downsizing” was only possible there through external third parties. A natural development of sorts, but not a revolution bringing along an epidemic.

Digital technologies have allowed a wider distribution of communications tools (mobile telephones, photographic equipment, sound recorders, geolocation devices, sensors for the state of health and well-being). The social progress linked to the power of wider communication is important, but a number cannot be attached to it. There are topical facts that illustrate this advancement through the distribution of reports shot on location, immediately resonating with official media and reaching a large audience. While society is better informed today, it also knows that it is more vulnerable as the spread of information is fast and significant.

4.6.3. Company organization

In order for a company targeting the transition to digital technology to succeed, it appears that its management should be organized in a collegial manner around few supervisors cooperating closely with the managers of the IT platform. The employment contract between the actors can be replaced by a tacit agreement between colleagues joining together for a quick and optimal profit without concerns over the time spent. The digital economy creates jobs that will not be allocated to existing employees as a matter of course. Union demands must be forgotten as the digital economy is itself temporary, playing a game of cat and mouse with the administration and regulatory bodies. Wherever the digital economy may develop, the administration fails to enact legislation to stabilize the suggested approaches while respecting corporate and fiscal conventions.

A digital business is not managed in the same way as an ordinary business. It must be more watchful and faster in its decision-making, and because of this it must have indicators built in to its management software. On this subject, Stéphane Schultz, founder of “15 marches”, a consultancy firm specializing in strategy and innovation⁴, is addressing the management methods of young digital businesses and suggesting strategic plans to them [OST 10].

The commercial and financial management plan, or business model canvas, is a reference document that presents the way in which a business, or any public or private organization, plans to establish and ensure its profitability, the way in which it earns money, conquers parts of the market or increases its traffic. This fundamental document is based around nine components (source: 15 marches).

1. 1) customer segments;
2. 2) value proposition;
3. 3) distribution channels;
4. 4) customer relations;
5. 5) revenue streams;
6. 6) key activities;
7. 7) key resources;
8. 8) key partnerships;
9. 9) cost structure.

According to the authors, this functional decomposition should allow each element to be analyzed and all activities to be synthesized as well as possible.

The pace of innovation is currently so fast that heads of industry and trade are barely able to foresee or even survive the evolution of developments in digital applications. Their future is becoming hard to predict and it must be taken into account as the situation develops. Certainly, stabilizing the volume of use and a better control of applications could be achieved through increasing the cost of Internet usage.

4.6.4. Digital refusers

Who wants to profit from the digital economy? Alongside those fanatical about the innovations brought by the Internet, it must be noted that there are still fringe group of people who are either very reluctant to accept or unconvinced by the usefulness of these developments. The United Kingdom, which is currently making significant efforts toward the success of its “Digital Britain” program, bitterly stated in 2014 that an average of 12.6% of its citizens showed no interest in digital technology, with this proportion reaching almost 25% in Northern Ireland [UK 15].

Senior citizens, in particular, are slow to familiarize themselves with how to handle computers, tablets and high-speed applications. SMS exchanges are a step that many seniors have not managed to reach. There are fears (and not only in the United Kingdom) that digital connections between seniors and the administration will not be achieved. The absence of Internet cafes or centers for continuing education in home computing in rural areas, in particular, restricts Internet access among older people. Planners have forgotten the broad variety of user profiles.