WRITTEN QUESTION E-0735/01 by Roy Perry (PPE-DE) to the Commission. High-speed trans European communications network.
Date: 2001-03-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU research policy, information network, information technology, trans-European network, transmission network

C 318 E/112

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.11.2001

(2001/C 318 E/117)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0735/01

by Roy Perry (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 March 2001)

Subject: High-speed trans European communications network

The 2000 Lisbon European Council called on the Council and the Commission, together with the Member
States where appropriate to (cid:145)facilitate the creation by the end of 2001 of a very high-speed trans European
network for electronic scientific communications, with EIB support,
linking research institutions and
universities, as well as scientific libraries, scientific centres and, progressively, schools.(cid:146) Does the
Commission believe that this target will be met, and what evidence can it supply to support its view?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(1 June 2001)

The major action leading to the creation of an high performance network for research in Europe was the
launching of the G(cid:201)ANT backbone for research in Europe,
in November 2000, in the context of the
Information Society Technologies (IST) Programme (with a Community contribution of € 80 millions for
a total estimated cost of € 200 millions).

G(cid:201)ANT increases the geographic coverage of Europe(cid:146)s internet backbone for research from 24 to 30
countries, and increases its capacity by a factor of 16 times to that provided by the previous 155 Megabits
per second (Mbit/s) technology. In fact, it is expected that in November 2001, 2,5 Gigabits per second
(Gbps) connectivity will be installed between eleven countries.

Such a European development matches, and complements the developments taking place at national level
through the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs). This backbone interconnects all NRENs
of the Community and Associated Countries which are also being significantly and continuously upgraded
and which are responsible for bringing research and education institutions connected. G(cid:201)ANT has set up
a working group that investigates how funds from the European Investment Bank (EIB) could be used for
the further upgrade of the European or national backbone networks.

The Commission is also supporting advanced trans-European scientific testbeds favouring the deployment
very high speed (beyond Gigabits) communications and GRID technology. In this respect the e.g. Datagrid
project (lead by the European centre of nuclear research (CERN) and with a Community contribution of
€ 10 millions) deploys a testbed linking the most advanced high energy physics institutes in Europe with
the most advanced technology on high performance computing and networking.

Testbeds on GRIDs and G(cid:201)ANT are a major support to the eEurope initiative and constitute essential
infrastructures for the European Research Area, in line with the objectives set by the European Council.

(2001/C 318 E/118)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0741/01

by Giles Chichester (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 March 2001)

Subject: Research and development

The 2000 Lisbon European Council called on (cid:145)the Council and the Commission, together with the Member
States where appropriate, (cid:133) to map by 2001 research and development excellence in all Member States in
order to foster the dissemination of excellence.(cid:146) Does the Commission believe this target will be met, and
what evidence can it provide to support its view?