 behavior. The demand for telecommunication backbone, location-based services, navigation systems, emergency services and software engineering would increase. In addition, the points of application would change in the following way: Centralised systems (decision support models, command and control systems, nodes and networks) will be needed, but will quite often be in the hands of private operators or public agencies. In situ, on-board systems: railways and cars but also airplanes or ships will have more and more on-board systems and terminals; end users and local operators in the case of energy, water and telecommunications will have more and more in situ "autonomous" systems. A significant transfer of upfront investments and risks could occur as an unintended consequence of this architecture. For instance, the most "visible" part of signalling and control systems (traffic lights, speed limit signals) would migrate from the roads and railway tracks to be installed on board, while sensors on the ground and in the air would create the missing links with the "overarching" system. Users of cars, trucks, in situ generation systems and operators of trains, trucks, airplanes, etc. would then bear more of the costs of capital, maintenance and risks which were in the past borne by the "owner" of fixed capital assets. Inevitably, such changes will be accompanied by a swath of issues that will need to be addressed by policy - the setting of standards, questions pertaining to intellectual property, implications for privacy, and the role that government could play in R&D efforts, notably in areas that have strong public-good features. Challenges raised by the future development of infrastructure Meeting future financial needs Beyond these general remarks regarding the evolution of infrastructure, three more specific observations are worth making with respect to investment needs and whether they are likely to be fulfilled. First, it is clear that the investments that will be needed in the coming decades are very large indeed 