Seamless content delivery in the future mobile Internet [Guest Editorial]

The Internet is incontrovertibly a great success that has changed our social and economic world. Today, over one billion users access the Internet on regular basis, more than 100 million users have downloaded at least one (multi) media file, and over 47 million of them do so regularly, searching in more than 160 exabytes of content. The content is expected to rise to more than 990 exabytes before 2012, fueled mainly by the users themselves [1]. It is envisaged that in the near- to mid-term future, mobile Internet will provide the means to share and distribute (new) multimedia content and services with superior quality and striking flexibility, in a trusted and personalized way, improving citizens¿ quality of life, working conditions, edutainment, and safety.