COMMISSIE VAN DE EUROPESE GEMEENSCHAPPEN 
Brussel, 13.07.1995 
COM(95) 342 def. 
MEDEDELING VAN DE COMMISSIE 
AAN DE RAAD EN HET EUROPEES PARLEMENT 
BETREFFENDE 
de demonstratie van Interworking via optische netwerken 
Samenvatting van de resultaten 

Demonstratie van Interworking via optische netwerken 
Samenvatting van de resultaten 
In 1992 nam het Europees Parlement het initiatief de demonstratie van optische communicatie 
in de Gemeenschap te stimuleren door steun toe te kennen aan de interconnectie van 
breedbandtechnologie-experimenten, zoals "breedband-eilanden" en High Performance 
Computer-centra in verscheidene Lid-Staten. Dit initiatief was gebaseerd op het O&O werk 
dat al was ondernomen in het Derde Kaderprogramma van de Gemeenschap voor Onderzoek 
en Technologie Ontwikkeling (1990-1994). 
Dit initiatief heeft de weg bereid voor de transeuropese netwerken en geïntegreerde 
breedbandcommunicatie (TEN-IBC) doordat het een aanvulling vormde voor het belangrijke 
werk dat reeds in de Lid-Staten en in het kader van de OTO-programma's van de Unie was 
verricht. 
Er zijn in alle Europese landen breedband-eilanden tot stand gekomen - gestimuleerd door 
nationale initiatieven, dan wel via het RACE-programma1 - die een uitgebreid Europees 
platform voor samenwerking inzake de opbouw van geïntegreerde breedbandcommunicatie 
(IBC) tot stand hebben gebracht. Zij hebben significant bijgedragen aan de ontwikkeling van 
geavanceerde telecommunicatieapparatuur, -diensten en -toepassingen, zoals schakel- en 
transmissiesystemen met hoge snelheid. De meeste breedband-eilanden zijn tot stand gekomen 
dank zij de gezamenlijke inspanningen van onderzoekers, bedrijven en netwerkexploitanten. 
Om deze stimulering tot stand te brengen heeft de Europese Commissie een oproep tot het 
indienen van voorstellen gelanceerd2 die open stond voor elk center of excellence op het 
gebied van High Performance Computing of communicatie. Deze oproep heeft geleid tot vier 
projecten3 met een looptijd tot twaalf maanden. In deze projecten werden breedbanddiensten 
aangeboden, met inbegrip van multimedia en groepswerken (multi-party cooperative 
working). De door de Unie verstrekte financiële steun diende ter dekking van een deel van de 
exploitatiekosten in de Lid-Staten in verband met de interworking, d.w.z. communicatiekosten 
en gespecialiseerde apparatuur, binnen de grenzen van hetgeen voor deze actie beschikbaar 
was op de begroting (4 miljoen ecu). 
Deze projecten waren: 
Isabel, voor de interconnectie van breedband-eilanden tussen Spanje en Portugal; 
Tironet. voor de interconnectie van breedband-eilanden in Noord-Ierland en de Republiek 
Ierland; 
Betel, voor de interconnectie van locaties in Frankrijk en Zwitserland; en 
HPC-Vision. voor de interconnectie van locaties in Frankrijk en Duitsland. 
1 RACE: Research and Technology Development in Advanced Communications Technologies in 
Europe. 
2 PB C 219 van 26.8.1992, blz. 11 
3 Besluit 1848/92 van de Commissie van 30.11.1992 en 2106/92 van 22.12.1992. 
Deze projecten liepen in 1993. Het bijgeVoegde technische document (bijlage) geeft details 
over de organisatie van de projecten. Aan het eind van de werkzaamheden werden de 
projecten geëvalueerd door onafhankelijke deskundigen. Deze audit kenmerkte de resultaten 
als "interessante en significante demonstratieactiviteiten, met name gezien het beperkte 
budget en de beperkte tijd die voor deze projecten beschikbaar waren". 
Aangezien deze projecten diepgaand moesten ingaan op mterconnectieonderwerpen werd er 
veel samengewerkt met de RACE-projecten en werd technische informatie uitgewisseld over 
de problemen die daarbij aan de orde komen en hoe deze konden worden overkomen. De 
projecten leverden ook input voor een aantal gemeenschappelijke functionele specificaties van 
RACE (Common Functional Spécifications). Door de nadruk te leggen op de interconnectie 
van breedband-eilanden gedurende deze relatief korte periode, werd in deze projecten intensief 
gebruik gemaakt van reeds bestaande resultaten van andere programma's of initiatieven. 
Daarbij moeten met name worden genoemd: 
. Breedband-eilanden zoals RIA (Portugal) en RECIBA (Spanje), door de netwerk­
exploitanten ontwikkeld, ten dele met de hulp van een aantal RACE-projecten; 
. Breedbandtoepassingen, zoals het ESPRIT-project VTMP; 
. Experimentele proefprojecten, zoals het RACE-project TIM en het DELTA-project 
EAST; 
. Bestaande netwerken zoals het MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) in Dublin en het 
STAR-netwerk4 in Belfast; 
. Bestaande produkten en prototypes, zoals hoge-snelheidscentrales (ATM en routers). 
Dank zij het initiatief kon een telecommunicatiediensteninfrastructuur worden ontwikkeld en 
een basis worden gelegd voor de bevordering en uitbreiding van breedbandcommunicatie: 
exploitanten, gebruikers en fabrikanten hebben de breedbandplatforms gebruikt voor proeven 
op ware schaal. De projecten hebben bij voorbeeld de eerste transnationale op ATM 
gebaseerde diensten kunnen aanbieden, hetgeen grote gevolgen zal hebben voor de 
ontwikkeling van de toekomstige Europese informatie-infrastructuur. 
In de projecten is bij wijze van proef overgegaan tot implementatie van een brede reeks reeds 
bestaande of aangepaste breedbandtoepassingen. Deze breedbandtoepassingen kunnen in de 
nabije toekomst de basis vormen voor de levering van breedbandcommunicatie aan 
eindgebruikers. De mogelijkheden zijn: 
. Videoconferentie 
. Elektronische post met audio/video-inhoud 
. Elektronisch werkvlak (Electronic white board) 
. Gezamenlijke gegevensverwerking door High Performance Computing-systemen 
. Levering op afstand van supercomputer-diensten 
. Online-inspectie van gefabriceerde onderdelen op basis van computervisie 
. Werken in groepsverband (Cooperative working) 
. Roboticatoepassingen 
. Desktop-conferentie 
STAR: Special Telecommunication Action for Regional Development: de doelstelling van het 
STAR-programma was het verbeteren van telecommunicatie-infrastructuur ten behoeve van 
geavanceerde telecommunicatiediensten. 
. Afstandsonderwijs. 
Dank zij dit initiatief hebben breedbandgebruikers de mogelijkheid gehad .met een groot aantal 
breedbandtoepassingen van verscheidene organisaties te experimenteren, zodat zij reeds in dit 
vroege stadium konden nagaan welke voordelen kunnen worden behaald uit 
IBC-toepassingen, zodat hieruit in de toekomst een demand-pull voor IBS mag worden 
verwacht. 
De ervaring die de openbare netwerkexploitanten hebben opgedaan op het gebied van 
interworking bij het oplossen van door de gebruikers gespecificeerde toepassingen heeft hun 
kennis vergroot over de mogelijkheden voor vergelijkbare breedbandtoepassingen. Zij hebben 
ook veel kennis opgedaan over technische kwesties in gedistribueerde breedbandtoepassingen 
over verbindingen met een grote bandbreedte, bij voorbeeld voor het vaststellen van 
verrekeningsregels voor ATM-diensten. Terwijl de feedback van de gebruikers van direct 
belang was voor de toekomstige ontwikkelingen van de openbare netwerkexploitanten, waren 
de gevolgen op de Europese markt indirect van aard, via een integratie van de door deze 
exploitanten opgedane ervaringen in hun eigen ontwikkelingen. De output van de projecten 
kan derhalve, indien zij goed wordt benut, sterk bijdragen aan de Europese samenhang en de 
concurrentiepositie van Europa. 
De fabrikanten van cross-connects, routers en andere eindapparatuur hebben hun apparatuur 
in reële omstandigheden kunnen testen. Daarnaast hebben zij kunnen samenwerken met de 
exploitanten bij het vaststellen van de parameters betreffende de kwaliteit van de 
dienstverlening die relevant zijn voor breedbanddiensten. 
Op basis van deze resultaten hebben de meeste projecten besloten door te gaan met het 
aanbieden van hun infrastructuur aan onderzoekprojecten in het RACE-kader en het initiatief 
TEN-IBC (transeuropese netwerken - geïntegreerde breedbandcommunicatie). Daarmee 
bieden zij de mogelijkheid voort te bouwen op de expertise die is tot stand gekomen dank zij 
deze experimenten met breedbandcommunicatie op Europese schaal. Daarnaast bieden zij een 
platform voor proeven op werkelijke schaal, die van essentieel belang zijn voor het begrijpen 
van de kwesties die een rol spelen bij de invoering van breedbandtoepassingen. In de projecten 
wordt verder ingegaan op de mogelijkheden deel te nemen aan de algemene taak van 
interconnectie van de nationale ACTS-Hosts5. 
5 Specifiek programma voor onderzoek en technologische ontwikkeling op het gebied van 
geavanceerde communicatietechnologieën en diensten. 

Technische bijlage 

Executive Summary 
Acknowledgment 
the Fiber Interconnection Initiative 
The Context 
Key Results 
Achievements 
Who Benefited? 
What Did We Learn? 
Detailed Infrastructure and Achievements 
Physical Coverage of the Projects 
Projects Achievements 
12001 - Isabel 
12002 - Tironet 
12003 - Betel 
12004 - HPC Vision 
Press References, Demonstrations, and Publications 
Participating Organizations 
List of Major Deliverables 
f 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
In the last few years, there has been a high growth in the installation of optical fiber cables 
all over Europe, providing a large transmission capacity. This will lead to a great 
improvement of services offered to users as this capacity will allow networks to carry 
multimedia applications. 
The RACE Programme (Research and Technology Development in Advanced 
Communications in Europe) has been developing the technology that would made this 
possible. Before this technology is made available for deployment, it is required to test if 
the applications and equipment from different sources (Network operators, vendors, and 
users) interwork. 
The European Parliament took in 1992 the initiative to stimulate this demonstration. The 
European Commission launched a call for proposal that resulted in four trans-European 
projects offering broadband services, including multimedia and multi-party cooperative 
working. 
The initiative helped develop a telecommunications service infrastructure and form a basis 
for the promotion and the expansion of broadband communications: operators, users and 
manufacturers have used the broadband platforms for real life testing, and the initiative has 
implemented on a trial basis a wide array of broadband applications. For example, the 
projects offered the first trans-European ATM based services with a relevant impact on the 
development of the future European Information Infrastructure. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
This report has been prepared with the help of the four projects involved in the Fiber 
Interconnecdon initiative. Further technical information is available from the project 
managers: 
Project Project Manager 
12001 Mr. Pedro Luis Chas Alonso 
Telefonica I+D 
Emilio Vargas, 6 
Madrid, 28043 
Spain 
Email: plchas@tid.es 
12002 Mr. Fred Rix 
British Telecom Northern Ireland 
Churchill House, 20-30 Victoria Street 
Belfast, BT14BA 
United Kingdom 
Email: Fred.Rix@btplc.bsb56.gold400.gb 
12003 M. Jalal Samain 
France Télécom Expertel 
25 rue des jeûneurs 
Paris, 75002 
France 
Email: Europe@altem.com 
12004 Prof. Ernest Hirsch 
Université Louis Pasteur Strasbourg-I 
Boulevard Sebastien Brant 
Dlkirch Graffenstaden, 67400 
France 
Email: hirsch@andromede.u-strasbg.fr 
I4> 
THE FIBER INTERCONNECTION INITIATIVE 
• Demonstrate • pilot action to f how the potential for effective 
broadband communications bated on optical fiber 
* Provide a aolld foundation of European collaoomtive 
research experience 
• Address the issues of interoperability and interworking of 
networks 
•Capture tfertteiitfoBofma^fectoraciatf , 
In a specific action, the European Parliament took the initiative to stimulate the 
demonstration of optical fiber-based communications for illustrating the interworking 
between centres of excellence. This action was to be seen in the context of preparing for 
the Trans-European Broadband Networks. 
The scope of the action was to financially participate in interconnection costs among IBC 
Islands and High Performance Computer Centers to advance the capability of interworking 
of these sites and to contribute to common functional specification for trans-European 
network operation following international standards. 
The Commission prepared and launched a call for proposal for interested parties willing to 
participate12. Participation was open to any center of excellence in high performance 
computing or communications. Contracts were awarded, for a period up to 12 months, on 
the basis of competitive bidding of consortia of at least two centers, independent of each 
other and established in different Member States, wishing to demonstrate interworking via 
optical fibre networks. The financial support provided by the Union was applied only to 
part of operational costs of interworking incurred within the Member States, i.e. 
communications charges and specialized equipment within the provisions of the budget 
available (4 MEcus) to this action. 
Four projects participated: 
llQQl Isabel 
12002 Tironet 
12003 Betel 
llQQi HPC-Vision 
Interworking and interoperability of networks and services are a prerequisite for the pan-
European telecommunications infrastructure. This initiative intended to prepare for the 
Trans-European Broadband Networks by complementing the already significant work done 
^J., No C219,26708/92 
2 Commission Decisions: C(92) 2910,30/11/92 sod C(92) 3309,22/12/92 
<W 
within the Member Slates and through the framework of Community Programmes. 
Testbeds for Integrated Broadband Communications (IBC) and High Performance 
Computing (HPC) will benefit from interworking* on a Community level. "Broadband 
Islands" have emerged in all European countries, stimulated either by national initiatives, or 
through the RACE Programme. RACE has created an extended European platform for 
cooperation towards IBC and has significantly contributed to the development of advanced 
telecommunications equipment, services, and applications, such as ATM systems, 
transmission systems, etc. Practically all islands are the results of joint efforts of 
researchers, industry and public network operators. 
This action has improved the conditions for testing and analyzing the impact of the new 
services, applications or end-systems in the networks, and has contributed to the 
development of fibre connectivity and produced an organizational structure to promote and 
expand the use of broadband communications. 
THE CONTEXT 
The projects were operating during the year 1993. By focusing on interconnecting 
Broadband Islands during this relatively short time period, the projects built extensively on 
already existing achievements stemming from other programmes or initiatives. In 
particular, one must mention: 
• Broadband Islands, such as RIA and RECIBA, developed by the Network Operators 
in part with the help of some RACE projects. 
• Broadband applications, such as ESPRIT Project P2091-VIMP. 
• Experimental Pilot Projects, such as RACE Project R2078-TIM and DELTA Project 
D2016-EAST. 
• Existing networks, such a MAN in Dublin and the STAR3 network in Belfast. 
• Existing products and prototypes, such as ATM cross-connects and Routers. 
Due to their high involvement in addressing interconnection issues, the projects participated 
heavily in the RACE concertation process where projects contribute by exchanging 
technical information on the issues they are facing and the means they use to overcome 
them. They exchanged valuable information within the RACE Project Line 8, Test 
Infrastructure and Interworking. Through this concertation process, they also provided 
inputs to some RACE Common Functional Specifications. 
The Commission Services monitored the projects' progress through Monthly Management 
Reports and ad-hoc contacts as needed. At the end of their work projects were evaluated 
by independent Auditors. Auditors noted in their report that results were viewed as an 
"interesting and significant demonstration, especially in view of the limited budget and 
limited time span under which that had to be managed " 
KEY RESULTS 
Achievements 
The Initiative helped develop a telecommunications service infrastructure and form a basis 
for the promotion and the expansion of broadband communications: operators, users and 
3 Special Telecommunication Action for Regional Development: me objective of the STAR programme was to improve 
the telecommunication infrastructure capable of hotting advanced telecommunication services. 
_ 
manufacturers have used the broadband platforms for real life testing, and the initiative has 
implemented on a trial basis a wide array of applications. These are: 
• Video conferencing. 
• Audio-video mail facility. 
• Electronic white board. 
• Shared data processing performed by High Performance Computing systems. 
• Remote provision of super computing facilities. 
• Vision based on line inspection of manufactured parts. 
• Cooperative working. 
• Robotics applications. 
• Demonstration and transfer of technology. 
• Multimedia desktop conferencing. 
• Distance learning by sharing classes in remote locations. 
Who Benefited? 
Users have had the opportunity to experiment various networking arrangements leading to 
a greater network efficiency. A key element of the Initiative was the large number of 
applications from various organizations. Users have had an early opportunity to understand 
the benefits they will draw from IBC applications, thus creating a future demand pull for 
IBC 
Public Network Operators have drawn lessons on the usage of the new infrastructure. 
The traffic patterns have been analyzed and studied to understand the behavior of 
broadband traffic. Improvements, enhancements, adaptations and administrations of a 
broadband trans-European service are results of the Initiative. 
Manufacturers of cross-connects, routers and other terminal equipment have been able to 
test their equipment in real life usage conditions. In addition, they have collaborated with 
operators to define the quality of service parameters relevant to broadband facilities. 
What Did We Learn? 
The experience gained in distributed applications over high bandwidth links can be used by 
the Public Network Operators, for example to define invoicing rules for ATM services. 
Thus, feedback to the public network operators is of value for their future developments. 
Impact on the European market is however only indirect, through integration of the 
experience gained by the Public Network Operators in their own developments. The 
projects output, if correctly exploited by the public network operators, can thus strongly 
contribute to European cohesion and competitiveness. 
Also, the experience gained through interworking with the concerned Operators for solving 
user specified applications can strengthen their cooperation with respect to similar end-user 
defined applications. Since most projects included public network operators as participants, 
their experience was readily applicable. However as pointed out by a project, one of the 
major difficulties appeared to be the linkage between the PNOs, and the user specific 
requirements. This was particularly true with respect to services and tarification. Technical 
problems, as experienced within the project, were fortunately marginal. 
13 
DETAILED INFRASTRUCTURE AND ACHIEVEMENTS 
Physical Coverage of the Projects 
55 
Vision 
Figure 2: Geographical Coverage 
12001 - hahel 
Isabel has interconnected two existing IBC islands, RIA in Aveiro (Portugal) and RECIBA 
in Madrid (Spain) in two successive steps. 
• The first step made available two 2 Mbit/s links from the beginning of the project. 
• The second step consisted in the introduction of ATM in the two islands, 
transporting the ATM cells through a plesiochronous link working at 34 Mbit/s. 
12002 - Tironet 
Tironet has implemented a broadband service connection between a Metropolitan Area 
Network in Dublin and an SDH network in Northern Ireland, based on the existing optical 
infrastructure, with enhancements to existing nodes to ensure a minimum throughput of 4 
Mbit/s. British Telecom Northern Ireland owns the optical link to the South and was 
responsible for the transnational link. The link had a minimum capacity of 4 Mbit/s with a 
further increase to 34 Mbit/s. 
72003 -Betel 
Betel has established a 34 Mbit/s cross-connect platform over trans-European borders. This 
platform has interconnected FDDI LANs in Geneva, Lyon and Sophia-Antipolis. A 
Connectionless Broadband Data Service was provided and each end terminal connected to 
BETEL using a E.164 addressing scheme. 
17004 -HPC-Vision 
HPC-Vision has set-up a 34 Mbit/s link over trans-European borders using existing 
facilities between Strasbourg and Karlsruhe. The project has used the connection to join 
existing systems installed in both locations. 
"/ 
Projects Achievements 
12001 - Isabel 
Data 
Data 
ATM over PDH 
34Mb/s 
Multimedia Multimedia 
The Isabel project has interconnected two IBC islands, RECIBA from Telefonica in Madrid 
(Spain), and RIA from Telecom Portugal in Aveiro (Portugal) using ATM over PDH at 34 
Mbit/s. 
As a main objective, the project has verified the interworking between two different ATM 
technologies. The RIA island is equipped with an Alcatel cross-connect, while the 
RECIBA island is equipped with a cross-connect developed by Telefonica. From the 
terminals, access was done through an Ethernet LAN and a router. 
Two bearer services were supported on top of ATM: LAN interconnection and circuit 
emulation at 2 Mbit/s. Isabel mixes different technologies, N-ISDN and ATM over PDH 
transport networks. The two Broadband Islands are interconnected by optical fiber. They 
are directly managed by the R&D Centers of Telecom Portugal and Telefonica, thus 
ensuring a smooth interconnection. 
The Isabel network, first phase, has been used during the BRAIN Summer school in July 
1993, while the second phase, operational since December 1993, will be used for the 1994 
edition of this Summer school. This infrastructure supports two major types of broadband 
applications: Cooperative working and distance learning 
Participants; 
Telefonica I+D 
Centre de Estudos de Tclecomunicacöes Country 
Spain 
Portugal 
/«" 
12002 - Tironet 
To root of Europe 
To root of Europe TIRONET's principal objective was to put 
in place a network facility open for a 
growing body of users and applications. To 
achieve this general growth and expansion, 
TIRONET has established an ongoing 
conference of users and PNOs, the 
Advanced Telecommunications Users 
Conference (ATUC). The ATUC has 
mapped out a strategy for the development 
of both the infrastructure and the value 
added services and applications using that 
infrastructure. 
The project has demonstrated the first 
transborder connection between Belfast and 
Dublin. On this network, Tironet has 
performed the following experiments: 
* Two services: 
• One Service 
Development 
•Two 
Experimental 
Pilots Provision of a super computing facility by a university in Belfast 
to application users in Dublin. 
Provision of shared full text and multimedia electronic 
documents (journals, etc.) by three university libraries involved 
in the consortium, with the possibility of extending this to other 
universities in the British Isles and the European mainland. 
Application of desktop conferencing technology to the 
cooperative development of multimedia materials. 
The Tourism Information and Marketing (TIM) project in 
RACE involves the tourist board from both the Republic of 
Ireland and Northern Ireland, and the availability of this 
broadband connection will provide an excellent opportunity for 
a TIM trial between these two organisations. 
The Educational Access and Support Tools (EAST) project in 
DELTA is developing a set of tools for accessing, interrogating 
and managing multimedia databases of educational material. 
Two of the universities in TIRONET are involved in this project 
and will use the network connection for testing and evaluating 
the use of shared educational resources. 
Participants; Country 
University of Ulster United Kingdom 
British Telecom Northern Ireland United Kingdom 
University College Dublin Ireland 
Nynex Media Communications Ltd United Kingdom 
Queens University Belfast United Kingdom 
Telecom Eireann Ireland 
University College Dublin Ireland 
MARI Northern Ireland | United Kingdom 
16 
12003 - Betel 
IN2P3 (Lyon) ATM 
Crott-cannoct 
CERN (Geneva) 
34 Mbps 
Eurécom (Sophia Antipolis) 
The Betel project has demonstrated multimedia applications with high data rate 
transmission over optical fiber links. The optical platform was between Geneva (CH), 
Lausanne (CH), Sophia Antipolis (F) and Lyon (F). 
The project was based on a trans-European broadband cross-connect infrastructure, using 
asynchronous techniques with a connection oriented facility. This connection has been the 
first international network using ATM technology. The BETEL project experimented 
broadband techniques, providing a significant advance for understanding the broadband 
issues. 
The project has used existing products. It has build a 34 Mbit/s cross-connect trans-
European platform with the following main objectives: 
* to test a cross-connect platform for trans-border links, 
• to support suitable multimedia applications, such as Tele-teaching or Physics 
Analysis Workstation, 
* to give a broadband access to high computing resources, and 
• to test asynchronous transfer techniques. 
Participants: Country 
Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de 
Physique des Particules 
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne 
Institut Eurécom 
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne 
France Télécom Expertel 
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Nucléaires 
Alcatel Cn France 
Switzerland 
France 
Switzerland 
France 
Switzerland 
France 
'f 
12004-HPC Vision 
inspoctioorobot and Partial VtsionSyitem(Karlsruhe) 
Host and 
Connection to 
Optical Rber 
•1. 
vision 
System 
(Featur 
Interpretation) 
Paria 1 Vision System and Control (Sfcasbourg) 
The project has interconnected two vision systems based on parallel systems (e.g. 
specialized processors and transputer networks), thus extending the availability of 
distributed vision systems. The data transfer was done through a trans-national optical 
network with a rate high enough to be compatible with real time applications. Also, 
friendly man-machine interfaces hid the network characteristics of the system allowing 
users to use the system as a whole. This approach opens the doors for new applications 
through cooperation of two geographically distributed systems, and intensifies the common 
research activities of the partners. 
The distributed system was also open to industries of the partners' regions, in the 
framework of a border crossing demonstration and transfer of technology for the industrial 
application of computer vision. The existence of a public optical link between the project 
partners and the commitment of the regional telecommunication agencies of the partners' 
countries to provide the required transfer rate of 34 Mbit/s has greatly facilitated the 
extension of the existing distributed systems using local networks (e.g. FDDI) to a larger 
public networked system. 
The existing applications used and adapted were the following: 
• Set-up of a distributed high computing power parallel structure based on transputers 
for computer vision applications. 
• Vision-based on-line inspection of manufactured parts. 
• Robotics applications. 
• Set-up of a geographically distributed demonstration and transfer of technology 
center for vision applications. 
Participants; Country 
Université Louis Pasteur Strasbourg-I 
Fraunhofer Institut - IITB France 
Germany 
V 
Press References, Demonstrations, and Publications 
• Public Network, December 1993 / January 1994. . 
• Communications Week International, September 20,1993 
• Internet Society newsletter, October 7,1993, Olivier Martin, International IP connectivity 
at 34 Mbps" 
• Demonstration at Interop Europe exhibition, Paris, October 23-27,1993. 
• SMDS conference, Amsterdam, November 22,1993, Olivier Martin, BETEL" • 
• The Packet, Cisco Magazine, January 1994. 
• Broadband Islands Conference, Athens, June 15-16,1993; An Overview of RECIBA, RIA, 
and Isabel 
• Advanced Telecommunications Users Conference Event, University College Dublin, May 
18,1993 
• Summer School on Advanced Telecommunications, Aveiro, July 1993 
• Communication^ exhibition, Dublin, 12-14 October 1993. 
• Demonstration of Interworking Via Optical Networks, Proceedings of Broadband Islands, 
Athens, 1993, Elsevier 
lS 
Participating Organizations 
Project Participants: Country 
Isabel Telefonica I+D Spain 
Centro de Estudos de Telecomunicaçoes Portugal 
Tironet University of Ulster United Kingdom 
British Telecom Northern Ireland United Kingdom 
University College Dublin Ireland 
Nynex Media Communications Ltd United Kingdom 
Queens University Belfast United Kingdom 
Telecom Eireann Ireland 
University College Dublin Ireland 
MARI Northern Ireland United Kingdom 
Betel Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de France 
Physique des Particules 
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Switzerland 
Institut Eurécom France 
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Switzerland 
France Télécom Expend France 
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Nucléaires Switzerland 
Alcatel CIT France 
HPC-Vision Université Louis Pasteur Strasbourg-I France 
Fraunhofer Institut - IITB Germany 
Xo 
List of Major Deliverables 
The projects prepared and delivered a tiumber of Deliverables describing specifications, 
project plans and achievements. The most significant Deliverables are listed below. 
ISABEL Specification of the interconnection 
Services and applications 
Evaluation report on the interconnection of 
the two broad band islands 
Final report on co-operative working 
Final report on distance education 
TIRONET Implemented Network 
Implemented Application 
Evaluation Report 
TIM Application Pilot Specification 
Interoperability Test Report 
Evaluation Report 
BETEL Demonstrator Specifications 
Primary Testing Report 
HPC Vision Report on the Implemented Distributed 
Structure 
Report on the Implemented Applications 
>i 
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