The author of Le Village numérique mondial (sold in China and Poland), Didier Lombard is a former CEO of France Télécom. A graduate of the prestigious École Polytechnique, Lombard began his career as a brilliant young scientist at the Centre National d’Etudes des Télécommunications (CNET), where he was responsible for the first French telecommunications satellites and for the famous GSM radio and telephone standard. He has also headed industrial strategies for the French Ministry of the Economy.

Growing demand, constant innovation, the explosion of new services: we are at the dawn of a new digital era. This book aims to explore the challenges that lie ahead and to suggest solutions that Europe can put forth so that it too can participate, and above all profit from, the development of the digital economy.
The author highlights the economic, geopolitical and social implications of today’s technological upheavals. Compared to Asia and the United States, Europe would seem to be lagging behind, yet it retains a number of competitive advantages thanks mainly to its high-tech skills. Worldwide demand is far from saturation and Europe can count on the active support of its own internal markets. So, much is still possible.

• In the digital age, it is our collective responsibility to understand and defy the challenges that lie ahead.
• The telecommunications world is analysed here by one of its foremost figures.
• Europe should define its industrial strategies in the face of global competition.