18.6,85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 148/5 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council decision,, on a preparatory action for a Community research and 
development programme in the field of telecommunications technologies 
R & D in Advanced Communications-technologies for Europe (RACE) 
DEFINITION PHASE 
RDP 
COM(85) 113 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 28 March 1985) 
(85/C 148/07) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 235 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic 
and Social Committee, 
Whereas the Community has as its task, by establishing a 
common market and progressively approximating the 
economic policies of Member States, to promote 
throughout the Community a harmonious development 
of economic activity and closer relations between the 
States belonging to it; 
Whereas the Heads of State or of Government, meeting 
in Stuttgart, Athens and Fontainebleau, emphasized the 
importance of telecommunications as a major source for 
economic growth and social development; 
Whereas the European Parliament, in its assessment of 
the situation and development of telecommunications, 
stressed the key role of telecommunications for the 
future political, social and economic development of the 
Community (Hearing of the European Parliament on 
Telecommunications 1983, Leonardi Report, Albert and 
Ball Report 1982); 
Whereas on 17 December 1984 the Council agreed on 
the main elements of a Community telecommunications 
policy including therein the objective of developing 
advanced telecommunications services and networks by 
actions on the Community-level; Whereas with the emergence of new services and the 
progressive convergence of telecommunications, data 
processing and entertainment the evolution tends 
towards a Europe-wide integrated broadband network 
(Integrated Broadband Communication, IBC) capable of 
supporting a wide range of customers and service 
providers; 
Whereas developments in telecommunications will 
benefit the international competitivity of the European 
economies in general and of the telecommunications 
industries in particular; 
Whereas in response to the absolute requirement to fully 
use the economic and market potential of telecommuni­
cations, the Commission has submitted a programme of 
action (') which has been recognized as a base for 
further work by the Council of Ministers of 21 May 
1984; 
Whereas R&D can make a major contribution, notably 
to easing the evolution towards the future Integrated 
Broadband Communication as regards transnational 
connections, and at regional and local levels; 
Whereas the Council has approved, in its resolution of 
25 July 1983 (2) the principle of framework programmes 
for Community research, development and dem­
onstration, the scientific and technical objectives for the 
period 1984 to 1987, and in particular the importance 
given to the goal of promoting industrial competitiveness; 
Whereas the RACE definition phase meets the absolute 
need for a preparatory action exploring telecommuni­
cation technologies and thus contributing to the 
constitution or consolidation of a specifically European 
C) Progress report on the thinking and work done in the field 
and initial proposals for an action programme, COM(84) 
277 final, 18. 5. 1984. 
O OJ No C 208, 4. 8. 1983. 
No C 148/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.6. 85 
industrial potential in the technologies concerned and it 
is necessary to make an urgent start; whereas its 
beneficiaries must therefore be network operators, 
research establishments, undertakings, including small 
and medium-sized enterprises and other bodies 
established in the Community which are best suited to 
attain these objectives; 
Whereas the RACE definition phase consists of two 
parts, one developing a reference model for Integrated 
Broadband Communication and the other exploring 
technology options; 
Whereas, the Treaty has not provided the necessary 
powers for this purpose, 
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 
Article 1 
1. A Community research and development activity in 
the field of telecommunications technology as described 
in the Annex, is adopted for a maximum period of 18 
months commencing 1 July 1985. 
2. The activity is designed essentially to define precise 
objectives and develop the approach to precompetitive 
research and development cooperation at Community 
level in concertation with national programmes in the 
field of telecommunications technologies. 
Article 2 
1. The programme shall consist of two parts. Part I 
shall comprise analytical work required for the formu­
lation of a reference model for integrated broadband 
communication to be carried out by concertation with 
appropriate organizations or, where required, by 
contracts. 
The programme shall in its Part II comprise 
precompetitive research and development projects carried 
out by means of contracts, as required to explore and 
clarify technology options. 
The contracts shall be concluded with network 
operators, research establishments, undertakings, 
including small and medium-sized enterprises, and other 
bodies established in the Community, hereinafter 
referred to as 'partners'. The work is to be carried out in 
the Community. 
2. The activity will consist of 11 projects as described 
in Annex 1. The projects of Part II and where required 
of Part I will be executed by means of shared cost 
contracts, normally on the basis of a minimum of 50 % 
from contractors, with the remainder normally being 
contributed by the Community. 
3. The activity will take account of requirements 
regarding the development of standards and common 
functional specifications to serve the interests of 
European industry, users and telecommunications 
operators in this field. 
Article 3 
1. The contracts for Part I shall be awarded by 
restricted tendering procedure. 2. The contracts for Part II shall be awarded bv open 
tendering procedure and involve the participation of at 
least two independent industrial partners not all 
established in the same Member State. The open 
invitation to tender shall be published in the Official 
Journal of the European Communities. 
Article 4 
1. The Community shall contribute to the per­
formance of the programme within the limits of the 
appropriations entered to this end in the budget of the 
European Communities. 
2. The overall amount of the appropriations estimated 
to be necessary for the Community's contribution to the 
performance of the programme shall be 22,1 million 
ECU over 18 months, including expenditure on 
Commission staff whose cost shall not exceed 4,5 % of 
the Community contribution. 
Article 5 
The Commission shall see that the programme is 
properly performed and establish the appropriate 
implementation measures and infrastructures. 
Article 6 
1. The Commission shall be assisted in the per­
formance of the tasks referred to in Article 2 by a 
committee. The committee, consisting of two represen­
tatives of each Member State, shall be set up by the 
Commission on the basis of nominations by the Member 
States. 
Members of the committee may be assisted by experts or 
advisors depending on the nature of the issues under 
consideration. 
The committee shall be chaired by a Commission 
representative. 
The Commission may consult the committee on any 
matter falling within the scope of this decision. 
2. The proceedings of the committee shall be 
confidential. 
3. The committee shall adopt its own rules of 
procedure. 
4. Secretarial services for the committee shall be 
provided by the Commission. 
Article 7 
With regard to the coordination activities provided for in 
Article 1 (2), the Member States and the Commission 
shall exchange all appropriate information to which they 
have access and which they are free to disclose 
concerning activities in the areas covered by this 
decision, whether or not planned or carried out under 
their authority. 
Information shall be exchanged according to a procedure 
to be defined by the Commission after consulting the 
committee, and will be treated as confidential at the 
supplier's request. 
18.6. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 148/7 
ANNEX 
RACE DEFINITION PHASE 
Summary of Areas 
PART I: Development of an IBC reference model 
1.1 Development of an IBC network reference model 
1.2 Definition of the IBC terminal environment 
1.3 Future application assessment 
PART II: 
II. 1 
II.2 
II.3 
II.4 
II.5 
II.6 
II.7 
II.8 Long lead-time R&D 
High-speed integrated circuits 
High-complexity integrated circuits 
Integrated optoelectronics 
Broadband switching 
Passive optical components 
Components for high bit-rate long-haul links 
Dedicated communications software 
Large area flat panel display technology 
RDP WORKPLAN 
INTRODUCTION 
The work to be carried out during the 18 months RACE Definition Phase (RDP) is divided into two major 
parts. Part I is concerned with work towards an IBC (') reference model and Part II is concerned with long 
lead time R & D as required for immediate analysis and techno-economic assessment on key topics. 
Each part is subdivided into a number of Areas of work (three for Part I and eight for Part II) which 
between them represent a coherent workplan. Although each area is a reasonably self-contained 'project', 
considerable interaction between them will be necessary in order to maintain the overall coherence. 
The work chosen for the RDP is important in itself, i.e. does not entail automatically a commitment to 
continue the work, but it does prepare the ground for the work which might be proposed after further exami­
nation. Thus the RDP effort should be viewed in the context of moving towards an ultimate IBC objective: 
although limited in commitment, it is essential for the understanding of the required developments and 
opportunities for Community cooperation and worksharing. 
This workplan has resulted from detailed consultations with operators and telematics industry but in view 
of the speed of evolution it will be subject to some limited adjustments in the course of its implementation. 
The distribution of the resource allocation will be reviewed with the management committee, referred to in 
Article 6, on the basis of the proposals for the execution of the RDP workprogramme. 
(') IBC: Integrated Broadband Communication. This stands for a Europe-wide broadband infrastructure capable of sup­
porting existing services and a wide range of new services transmitting voice, data and images. It is expected to 
evolve from or subsume present services and network structures. 
No C 148/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.6. 85 
PARTI 
DEVELOPMENT OF AN IBC REFERENCE MODEL 
Rationale 
Considering the need 
— to have a common understanding of the evolution towards IBC, 
— to have a means of identifying the relevant R&D projects aimed at the implementation of IBC, 
— to have within the participating organizations a common definition and understanding of the IBC 
system and subsystems, 
— to have guidelines for the specification of such (sub)systems, 
— to support the work of standardization by the appropriate bodies in order to facilitate the introduction 
of IBC by 1995, 
a reference model of the proposed Integrated Broadband Communication is needed. This reference model 
will evolve as work proceeds, but at least a first iteration of such a model should be prepared as a 
significant activity of the RDP. 
Areas of Work 
The overall IBC environment comprises three major elements, namely the network itself, the terminal 
equipment attached to the network and the applications/services provided on the network-plus-terminals. 
To complete a comprehensive reference model, each of these three elements require examination and 
appropriate scenarios drawn for them. Therefore, three corresponding areas of work are identified in the 
RDP workplan, described in the sections that follow, with the IBC network reference model playing a 
central rdle: 
1.1 Development of an IBC network reference model; 
1.2 Definition of the IBC terminal environment; 
1.3 Future applications assessment. 
Area 1.1: Development of an IBC network reference model 
1. Objectives and approach 
The network reference model is intended to specify the operational requirements for the IBC network, 
the transition from narrow band ISDN, and the corresponding system and subsystem functional 
requirements. 
The operational requirements will be time dependent, 1995 being a key date for the provision of IBC 
services. These requirements will be expressed in terms of network topology and will take into account 
alternative assumptions about technology» traffic levels, service characteristics, terminal types, protocols, 
etc. 
The subsystem functional requirements to meet the operational needs will describe a hierarchy of 
systems and subsystems capable of carrying the identified services. Hence the major parameters to be 
defined include the technical specifications and standards for interfaces and for the transmission 
switching and signalling subsystems. 
The various operational and system requirements will be interdependent, hence the reference model will 
for example allow a balance to be struck between the desire to provide sophisticated services to a 
widespread community and the techno-economic feasibility of being able to provide such services. 
The reference model will initially take the form of simple operational and functional descriptions. In 
order to assess trade-offs between system parameters it may be necessary to implement some aspects of 
the model on a computer. This would facilitate evaluation of the effects of alternative assumptions, and 
would include provision for techno-economic assessment and evaluation. 
18.6. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 148/9 
2. Method of working 
The preparation and exploitation of the reference model should be undertaken jointly by experts drawn 
from industry and the telecom operators under the latter's leadership. It is noted that CEPT/GSLB (') is 
currently working on related standards and, in order to make efficient use of all available resources and 
to achieve a common European solution, GSLB has been invited to make major contributions to this 
Area of the RDP. Results from the CEC/ETCO 'Transnational Broadband Backbone (TBB)' study will 
also be used wherever appropriate. 
3. Tasks 
The tasks to be undertaken during the RDP are as follows: 
1.1.1 Overall network 
— service requirements, 
— network constraints (including interworking and ISDN evolution and regulatory constraints). 
1.1.2 Operational requirements 
1.1.3 Techno-economic assessment 
— technical performance, 
— cost/performance assessment for major components (including establishment of any necessary 
computing tools). 
4. Links with other RDP activities 
In order to fulfil its objectives, the network reference model work will need to receive contributions 
from the two other areas of Part I: 
Area 1.2 will investigate the 'terminal environment' and will contribute information on terminal archi­
tectures and user requirements, which in turn lead to definitions of customer access structures, and, in 
conjunction with area 1.3 will provide information on potential terminal densities and traffic levels. 
Area 1.3 will assess the potential future applications of IBC and, as already identified, will be required to 
provide traffic information for inclusion in the network model. There is also the need for topological 
information relating to potential user populations for the various services to be provided by the IBC 
network. 
Part II is concerned with long lead time R&D required for immediate exploratory work and is of less 
relevance to the reference model in its early stages. Dependent upon the actual work programmes 
selected and the cost/performance objectives there would be a longer term dependence upon any new 
technologies identified as relevant to IBC. In the reverse direction, the reference model as it evolves will 
help to select relevant topics for future R&D work. 
Area 1.2: Definition of the IBC terminal environment 
1. Introduction 
The future use of telecommunications will depend not only on the availability of a public network but 
also on the cost performance of the terminal equipment and services. The cost performance of terminals, 
in particular, is a key to penetration; no network will be used extensively and few new services added 
until a wide population of users exists with the desire and ability to use those services. Thus an 
important objective must be to achieve rapidly a growing population of cost-effective terminals with a 
high user acceptability. 
Terminals will range from simple, mobile devices linked to the network via radio, up to sophisticated 
work stations for professional use. The simple low-cost terminals would be available to millions of users, 
while the more sophisticated terminals will be required for a more limited population of specialized 
users. At all levels of sophistication, however, there will be common requirements for major functional 
elements, leading to the possibility of advantages of scope. 
(') The participation of CEPT/GSLB (Groupe Special Large Bande) in this work will permit European countries other 
than Member States to be associated from the beginning with the elaboration of a network reference model for 
broadband networks. 
No C 148/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.6.85 
In all cases, terminals will need to possess the following attributes: 
— compatability with the standards developed for integrated broadband communications (IBC) as well 
as ISDN 
— ease of use by the general population coupled with increased functional performance, leading to a 
wide penetration 
— lowest possible terminal system lifecycle cost depending on the level of sophistication (typically — at 
today's prices — in the ranges 100 to 1 000 ECU per year for the general public, 1 000 to 10 000 
ECU per year for business applications and 10 000 to 100 000 ECU per year for specialized users) 
— high reliability/availability and, in many cases, low power requirements. 
2. Objectives and Scope 
The overall objective is the maximum rationalization of the terminal area so as to benefit from the 
advantages of scale and scope. 
This cannot be fully achieved by 18 months' effort on a relatively modest scale, but in the RDP it will 
be possible to define a framework to guide future activities. This framework can be described as a 
'terminal' reference model. As such it must be consistent with the 'network' reference model of Area 1.1 
and with the 'user application and service provider' reference model of Area 1.3: together these three 
models represent the overall IBC Reference Model. 
The work will concentrate on terminals for broadband services since these represent the most significant 
challenges. However, the framework must embrace and be compatible with narrow- and medium-band 
services, particularly those associated with ISDN. 
The work will also emphasize domestic terminals (in the home environment) which, in the context of 
IBC, are likely to develop from video (television) in terms of quality and new services available. It is 
noted that the ESPRIT programme (R&D areas 4.2 Advanced work stations and 4.3 communication 
systems) includes work on terminals for narrow- and medium-band applications in the office 
environment. Clearly, in order to lead to a common framework for all terminals, close liaison must be 
set up and maintained with the relevant ESPRIT activities. However, RACE should also embrace 
broadband 'business' terminals that are not covered by ESPRIT. 
3. Approach 
The approach will be to concentrate on the Junctional analysis, design and interfacing of terminals. 
Thus, the purpose is to identify the major functions of terminal equipment, to define the interfaces 
between the functions and to indicate the functional relationships (architectures). This includes not only 
the hardware but also the functional requirements for operating systems and generic applications 
software. 
A general analysis will be carried out, supported by more specific investigations of representative classes 
of terminals. This approach will ensure realism in the gerneral model and at the same time yield 
significant insight into the design of key classes of IBC terminals. Local transmission and intercommuni­
cation, such as the subscriber premises network (SPN) must be included in the model. 
The model should include functions corresponding to all levels in the OSI-model. This will help to 
ensure that terminals will be compatible with a wide range of services and to ensure correct inter-
working of the terminal equipment with each other and with any service provider. While it is recognized 
that work relating to all OSI levels is unlikely to be completed during the RDP, some attention should 
be given to the higher layers (e.g. operating systems, display formats). The work will build on the results 
from on-going work relating to narrow- and medium-band applications as well as the work in broad­
casting carried out in the framework of EBU. 
4. Tasks 
The work for the RDP area 1.2 is identified under five tasks: 
1.2.1 Terminal Reference Model 
An initial 'basic' model should be specified to help to guide the other tasks in this area. The model will 
then be refined and extended, taking into account the experience gained in those other tasks. 
1.2.2 Multiservice terminal (home/business work station) 
This work will carry out the functional description of a terminal capable of handling characters, speech, 
images, and graphics, with particular reference to image processing and storage both for entertainment 
and communication. 
18.6.85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 148/11 
1.2.3 Subscriber premises network (SPN) 
The objectives of this task are the functional description of the multiservices broadband bus (or any 
other network type) both for information and signalling, and the functional descriptions for terminal 
interface components to be implemented subsequently. 
1.2.4 Digital television 
The main goal of this task is the functional description of 'hi-fi' digital television, taking into account 
the new European standards (MAC systems, digital TV studio etc.) and to investigate its harmonization 
with an IBC terminal reference model. 
1.2.5 High definition TV (HDTV) 
There are no fixed standards for HDTV and the development status for HDTV components is far away 
from final solutions. The purpose of this task, however, is to outline a functional description for an 
HDTV system, with particular reference to the bit-rate requirements and the use of redundancy 
reduction techniques to minimise the bit-rates. 
It is recommended that close liaison between the tasks is set up and maintained, including the possibility 
of (formal) joint review meetings to discuss progress and to make decisions on the next steps. Liaison 
will also be required with the other Areas of RDP Part I, and with other relevant activities under 
ESPRIT, COST, EBU, etc. 
Area 1.3: Future applications assessment 
1. Rationale 
The extent and speed of development of future IBC markets depend both on the application potential 
and the cost-performance sensitivity of the applications. In order to reduce costs, advantages both of 
scale and scope need to be exploited, implying a good understanding of the commonality of functional 
requirements. This understanding in the specific context of IBC terminals is a major aim of Area 1.2, but 
a similar understanding is required in the broader but closely related context of user applications and 
services. 
To achieve this broader understanding, it will be necessary to develop a reference model of the future 
IBC applications and services. Such a model must include a functional analysis of all foreseeable 
applications of the services to be provided by IBC, integrated with the ISDN and broadcast services. 
The model must also allow an assessment of the extent to which new services are likely to be affordable 
to the various market segments. 
An important issue which the reference model must reflect is that of the acceptability of services to users. 
This requires a system analysis of the requirements on 'quality' of service. A particular area of concern 
in this context is the privacy of use, the protection of information and the measures needed to be 
adopted by the organizations which are handling it. 
2. Objectives 
The prime objective is to establish the methodology for definition of the user application and service 
provider reference model, and its use and refinement in later aspects of the programme. 
The detailed objectives of the selected tasks are: 
— to visualize and to describe future applications and services, their evolution and the substitution of 
existing applications and services, 
— to arrive at a set of design criteria for new services embedded in the user application and service 
provider reference model, 
— to support the evaluation of methods and goals to be used for market explorations and to evaluate 
technological implementations and assess their cost and economic viability. 
3. Approach 
It is assumed that the Groupe d'Analyses et de Previsions (GAP) will provide most of the market 
assessment and statistical data required to carry out the work specified here. Parametric analyses will 
then be carried out as required for the construction of the reference model. Deductions from the 
reference model will then provide important inputs to the work defined in Areas 1.1 and 1.2. 
No C 148/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.6. 85 
4. Tasks 
The tasks for this area are: 
1.3.1 Assessment Methodology 
To define the methodology and select tools for assessment of user applications and services. This will 
require definition of the user application and service provider reference model which must relate directly 
to the IBC reference model of Part I. 
1.3.2 Survey of Applications 
To review the whole range of applications relevant to an integrated broadband communications network 
of the 90s. In addition to improvements of the existing and emerging applications there will also be new 
applications already contemplated which will exploit the broadband capability of the IBC. 
1.3.3 Survey of Present and Future Services 
Services in this context refer to the various communications services provided by telecommunications 
operations or broadcast authorities including CATV (cable TV) and other service providers. The present 
range of services includes voice, data, text, pictures, services, broadcast, cable television, surveillance, 
etc. 
A study of the characteristics and rationale of all these current and future services is required for the 
classification of the total range of services. 
The study needs to recognise the national/international objectives of the telecommunications services as 
opposed to the local nature of the interactive services currently being built into cable television systems 
— for example, teleshopping. 
1.3.4 Relevance of Applications to IBC Services 
The key objective for this task is the matching of the applications and the service provider requirement 
to the IBC services. This task relates the two previous tasks (1.3.2 and 1.3.3) together, and provides 
interfaces and inputs to the IBC network reference model. 
1.3.5 Quality of Service 
This task is to establish an initial set of parameters concerned with quality of service and performance, 
for example: 
— requested information rate, 
— reliability of information transfer, 
— interfaces, 
— concurrent usage, 
— holding times, 
— response times (delay, setting up and in-use interactivity), 
— grade of service, 
— signalling paths for the user, 
— availability (continuity of service). 
1.3.6. Market. Analysis and User Cost Sensitivity 
In the RDP the method and tools required for a future market exploration shall be defined and selected. 
1.3.7 Security Aspects 
The introduction of security policies into the overall broadband integrated network requires 
concentration on the following items: 
(i) Needs and degrees of privacy for users; 
(ii) Acceptable price of privacy when it is provided by the network; 
(hi) Means and procedures from the administration in order to guarantee the provided privacy service; 
which means: 
— inclusion of necessary security features in definitions of services and procedures, 
— study of charging problems (transfer of user identity, authentication of transactions, etc.). 
This task will be carried out in close liaison with the related work done in the framework of the Infor­
matics Programme. 
18.6.85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 148/13 
PART II 
LONG LEAD-TIME R&D 
Rationale 
A considerable effort in technology (both hardware and software) is required in order to reach the 
cost/performance objectives necessary for the eventual implementation of IBC (by 1995). A large part of 
the required technology is not available today, even at a pre-development level. 
For the RACE definition phase, R&D topics requiring exploratory work have been selected which could 
be conducted on a trans-European cooperative basis and which are of high relevance for the long-term 
competitiveness of European industry with respect to the world-wide markets. More specifically, R&D 
areas have been selected for the RDP which are considered to be: 
— key elements for fulfilment of the IBC objectives, somewhat independently of the detailed network and 
systems specifications to be investigated by Part I, 
— most urgent, in view of both the objectives set in time, and the necessary lead time. 
Objectives 
The results obtained in Part II of the RDP are to clarify the potential of technology options, facilitate 
choices, reduce uncertainty and contribute to the investigations conducted in Part I as well as verifying the 
technology feasability of new concepts arising out of the work in Part I. 
Tasks 
In view of the abovementioned criteria and general considerations, the eight areas of selected exploratory 
R&D are: 
II. 1. High-speed integrated circuits 
11.2 High-complexity integrated circuits 
11.3 Integrated optoelectronics 
11.4 Broadband switching 
11.5 Passive optical components 
11.6 Components for high bit-rate long-haul links 
11.7 Dedicated communications software 
11.8 Large area flat panel display technology 
It should be noted that in the areas identified the RDP will be limited to explorative R & D on the most 
promising technology options and a critical review of their potential in terms of cost performance to meet 
the requirements identified for RACE. 
Relationships with ESPRIT 
Possible synergies or overlaps with specific areas of the ESPRIT programme have been, and will continue 
to be, carefully examined during the selection process. The set of selected tasks for the RACE Definition 
Programme does not overlap with ESPRIT, but it is sufficiently closely related to ensure cross benefits. It 
should be noted however that by the time the RDP is implemented, a significant part of ESPRIT will have 
been executed and results will start to become available for the telecom-specific work in the RDP; this will 
be taken into account when the details of the work in the RDP are being finalized. 
A rea II. 1: High-speed integrated circuits 
II. 1.1. Very-high-speed circuits 
In a few areas of the IBC system, mainly in the transmission subsystems, very-high-speed circuits are 
needed., but the functions to be performed are usually limited in complexity. Consequently, in this first class 
of devices speed is the most important parameter; nevertheless, as these circuits are located in the 
peripheral area of the system and are very numerous, power dissipation plays an important role. 
NoC 148/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.6.85 
A number of such circuits have been studied or even implemented for some particular applications; 
nevertheless the problems are not resolved for IBC and significant further improvements will be required to 
achieve a larger scale of integration and a lower power consumption and cost. To achieve the objectives 
the most promising technology options will be explored. 
II. 1.2 Modelling of high-speed low-power devices 
To support the above task, effort is required on modelling high-speed low-power devices. The objectives 
here are: 
— to develop standard models of telecommunications devices to be used in the simulation of high-speed 
integrated circuits using gallium arsenide or silicon bipolar, MOS, and CMOS technologies down to 
one micron minimum feature size; 
— to develop standard procedures for the characterization of telecommunications devices and the deri­
vation of parameters required by the simulator. 
In the domain of high-speed integrated circuits, substantial actions have been initiated in ESPRIT. The 
tasks selected here concern specific objectives, that will draw on the techniques developed in ESPRIT. 
Area II.2: High-complexity integrated circuits 
II.2.1 High-complexity circuits for signal processing 
For IBC a second class of telecommunications devices is related to very complex functions, i.e. the digital 
processing of the video signal. Here, the speed of the internal circuitry can be limited by the use of parallel 
processing, i.e. the premium characteristic of the technology is reduced power dissipation, in order to 
enable VLSI circuit integration. Because of the high bit-rate to be handled, high-speed operation is still 
needed, but a trade-off should be reached between processing algorithm, speed of operation and device 
architecture. 
The development of low-cost video-signal processors, made possible by VLSI technology, could 
significantly impact upon the application of digital techniques in the television area. At present, general-
purpose digital signal processors (DSP) exist that are limited to audio-range applications. Only very 
expensive equipment or circuits of limited complexity and high-power dissipation such as experimental 
circuits for video applications have been produced, and considerable effort will be required for a substantial 
technical advance in this field. 
The RDP includes the exploratory R&D towards optimal design and implementation of such devices. 
II.2.2. Bandwidth compression for (HD)TV 
A related task is that concerned with data compression algorithms (redundancy reduction) for TV and 
high-definition TV. Motivations involved are, in particular, the system costs of the transmission channels 
and switching equipment of future networks and the storage devices' constraints. With redundancy 
reduction techniques one can produce much simpler and therefore cheaper switching and transmission 
equipment for the same channel capacity. Cheaper system engineering will be possible since the data rate 
can be lower. On the other hand, some development will be required in order to reduce complexity and 
price of the subscriber equipment, but this task must become easier due to the foreseeable price cut of 
frame memories. A big effort must be made towards standardization, and this effort will be helped by 
concerted exploratory R&D. 
II.2.3 Liaison and coordination of design tools 
To support the above tasks it will be necessary to liaise closely with other related programmes on CAD for 
complex systems. The objectives here are: 
— to liaise with related Community projects (e.g. microelectronic projects under Regulation (EEC) 
No 3744/81 and ESPRIT), 
— to advise the above projects on coordination with the RACE programme with respect to the facilities 
needed and timescale, 
— to advise the Commission of the European Communities on necessary extensions to the above projects. 
18.6.85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 148/15 
Area II.3: Integrated optoelectronics 
The optical transmitters and receivers used today in optical communication links associate discrete opto­
electronic devices (laser diodes, photodiodes, etc.) with electronic circuits ((de)coders, modulators, 
amplifiers, etc.). The potential advantages of opto-electronic integrated circuits, associating monolithically 
in single semiconductor chips several electronic, optical and opto-electronic functions are well recognized 
by analogy with the past history of silicon ICs: 
— a reduction in manufacturing costs due to co-processing, 
— an increase in performance (speed, noise) due to the reduction of parasitic circuit elements, 
— an improvement in reliability. 
The work included in the RDP for this area defines and explores the technologies which eventually have to 
be mastered by component manufacturers to produce, at competitive cost, the devices necessary for 
terminal functions in future optical fibre IBC. In the RACE definition phase, work will aim at speeding up 
progress in this area as related to telecommunications applications. 
Area II.4: Broadband switching 
Broadband switching will be one of the critical parts of future IBC. For this reason it will be worthwhile to 
carry out exploratory work aimed at the three major options: 
11.4.1 Technologies for a low-dissipation space switch 
The space switch is selected as starting point. Although there are suitable switching network components 
for this in the current state of the art, these switches may have an extremely high power consumption. The 
aim of the future development efforts must therefore be directed to employing low-dissipation technologies. 
11.4.2 Technologies for time division switching 
Parallel to the above task, explorative development work on components for a broadband time division 
switch should be undertaken. The latter work is highly sophisticated from the technological viewpoint, but 
the breakthrough from the space switch to the time switch — as has been the case in narrowband switching 
— is expected to result in appreciable cost reductions for the switching network. 
11.4.3 Optical switching technologies 
In the coming decade, a very rapid development in optics technology can be expected. As is well known, 
semiconductor technology will also advance further and the combination of the two will open up new 
possibilities. In order to ensure that the all-electronic switching network stays abreast of these 
developments, further exploratory R&D work should be carried out under the heading of 'optical 
switching technologies'. The state-of-the-art and the progressive development of optical switching 
principles should first be established and after this knowledge has been acquired this should be followed up 
by work on optical devices suited for a switching network. 
Area II.5: Passive optical components 
If IBC is to be economically viable it will be important to minimize the cost of optical components, par­
ticularly in the local area networks and subscriber loops where the quantity of components required will be 
larger. More specifically, it is probably, necessary to lower the cost of components by at least an order of 
magnitude. This cost reduction will require advances in production techniques. The cost reduction resulting 
from increased production volume on its own will not suffice. It is also necessary to explore new devices/ 
technologies offering potentially better cost/performance characteristics. 
The performance and cost of several types of optical components will strongly influence the design of the 
IBCN, and during the RDP attention should be given to clarifying the technical questions raised by such 
issues. 
Area II.6: Components for high bit-rate long-haul links 
In order to satisfy the foreseeable growth of long-haul traffic, the bit rate of each link will have to be 
increased to a value much higher than at present and several optical channels will have to be multiplexed 
on the same fibre. These two complementary measures when applied to cables with many fibres, will allow 
the wanted trunk capacities to be achieved. 
No C 14 8 /16 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.6.85 
Work during the RDP, should focus on the two main evolutionary routes that are foreseen, namely: 
11.6.1 Direct detection Systems 
Direct detection systems permit increases in the transmission rate by light intensity modulation. In order to 
increase the bit rate above 2 Gbit/s using direct detection it is particularly desirable to have a light emitter 
with a spectrum which is both very narrow and stable. Appropriate optical modulation techniques are also 
required. 
11.6.2 Coherent systems 
Realization of coherent links with homodyne or heterodyne detection (the electromagnetic field of the 
light is modulated) and receivers using a local oscillator is a very attractive solution. Such links could lead 
to increase of distance between repeaters due to decrease of receiver threshold, and to simplification of the 
system due to the use of optical amplifiers. It will therefore be necessary to explore options for the most 
important components, namely stable sources, amplifiers and modulators. 
Area II. 7: Dedicated communication software 
From a software point of view telecommunications systems have already reached a level of complexity 
which exceeds the abilities of current methods, tools and techniques to control comfortably. This 
complexity arises from the fundamental nature of such systems which are highly concurrent, have strict 
real-time response constraints and severe requirements on availability of services. The difficulties are 
compounded by the need to have highly configured installations and the very long lifetimes imposed by 
economic and technical constraints. 
Introduction of IBC services will result in substantial increases in the basic functional complexity of the 
system, will generate dramatic increases in the workload to be handled and will demand even higher levels 
of response and robustness. Without a major effort to produce enhanced methods, tools and techniques 
leading to substantially improved productivity and reduced overheads, it is extremely doubtful whether 
software of the quantity and quality needed to satisfy these requirements can be produced economically 
and within the required timescales. 
Through programmes such as ESPRIT and some Member States' national programmes, there is already a 
considerable body of R & D effort underway aimed at improving the software production and maintenance 
process in the mainstream area, many results of which can either be applied directly to the telecommunica­
tions area or can form the basis of further telecommunications-oriented R&D activity. 
Thus a first vital task in this area must be a critical review of the prevailing and anticipated future software 
development techniques deriving from such programmes with respect to their potential use in telecoms over 
the next 10 to 15 years. An important output from this task will be recommendations on the detailed 
content and the resources to be allocated to further work on telecom-related software issues. 
During the RDP, attention will be directed towards three additional tasks, each already recognized to be 
of key importance to communications software: 
II.7.1 Specification and design methods 
Major improvements in productivity and reliability of telecommunications software depend on: 
— better specification methods, 
— formal procedures to transfer the specification into an implementation, 
— formal methods to verify that the implementation conforms with the specification. 
Specification, implementation and verification belong together, and a major step forward can be made if 
these subjects are dealt with in an integrated approach. The RDP exploratory work will concentrate on the 
first of these steps, taking into account the constraints set by the subsequent steps. 
II.7.2. A total system description model 
The aim of this task is to develop a method for describing a telecommunications system so as to generate a 
model which can be manipulated to evaluate possible implementations and configuration options including 
the generation of quantitative data. The method should also lead naturally to the development of a stan­
dardized ^structure for the system to encourage the identification of reusable subsystems with inter­
changeable versions of varying capacities and speeds. 
As such, this task will provide an input to Area 1.1. 
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II.7.3 Applications o/AI techniques 
In the telecommunications area artificial-intelligence techniques may be beneficially applied to some fields 
of application including: functional decomposition, project/configuration control, software manufacture, 
dynamic traffic management, optimal routing of assymetric traffic, diagnostics of network and (sub)systems 
and building of specific exchanges (including software production). 
These AI techniques can sometimes substitute other techniques with the advantage that the implemented 
system can easily be adapted. But also these techniques give the possibility to tackle applications which are 
not amenable to implementation by other methods. 
Area II.8: Large area Slat panel display technology 
IBC will provide very powerful means to transmit moving images, so that the market for displays could be 
much enhanced. Each subscriber, home and office, will have needs for several displays working at different 
places for different services: text, still pictures, moving pictures for information, education or enter­
tainment. 
Inadequate cost/performance and characteristics (e.g. volume, weight ...) are at present major obstacles 
for a rapid build-up of use. The RDP will explore technology options offering major advances.