Few links between industry and third-level researchers are as physical as that between Tellabs Ltd and the University of Limerick. A fibre-optic link, installed by Telecom Eireann last summer, joins telecommunications laboratories in both premises and opens up a host of opportunities for experimentation that would otherwise be impossible or difficult.
One consequence is that experiments can be conducted on the transfer of data and services between the two laboratories. Inter-operability and standards compliance are the current focus, and firewalls are being tested.
"The link is a novel concept, and means that we are able to do trials without leaving our building," said Dr John Nelson, director of the Telecommunications Research laboratory at UL.
"At this stage, transferring is more important than what's being transferred it's like a train running with no passengers."
Service trials on remote imaging and video-conferencing are being run at more than 2 megabits per second (the fibre-optic link works at up to 4 megabits per second). This means that the somewhat jerky images that occur at lower speeds should disappear.
Another bugbear, the dropped connection, should also be banished, because of the use of ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode).
"A major benefit of ATM is that it allows the guarantee of quality of service," said Prof Cyril Burkley, Professor of Telecommunications at UL. "It can be guaranteed that the Internet or video-conferencing link won't break down.
"It also supports very diverse services, and should eliminate the need for diverse networks."
ATM is of keen interest to both UL and Tellabs because of the growing use of client-server systems, video-conferencing, multimedia transmission and other new applications, which places more and more demands on networks. In turn, this has led to a growing demand for broadband technology so that more traffic can be carried and the quality of transmission improved.
The traffic demands on the network are very uneven, and ATM is seen by many as the best available solution for transmitting this type of traffic, as long as it can be made to integrate with other technologies and services such as Frame Relay.
As well as facilitating trials, the link means that researchers at both ends can more efficiently pool their expertise Tellabs' in ATM and Frame Relay technology, and UL's in investigating broadband.
The Tellabs Broadband Product Research Laboratory in Shannon is used in the company's research into how broadband and narrowband networks can work together to deliver the services that users are demanding. It is helping to define benchmarks for the company and the industry generally.
The Telecommunications Research Laboratory in UL is part of a larger research effort, which includes the work of Teltec, the telecommunications PAT (Programme in Advanced Technologies).
Co-operation between UL and Tellab's predates the new link, with the two having worked together on several projects in the past.
"The Broadband Product Research Lab was established to foster co-operation of research being carried out at both UL and Tellabs," said Mr Pat Shanahan, vice-president and managing director Tellabs Ltd.
"We investigated ATM technology, validated the transmission of high-speed data, voice and video and now we plan to experiment with a number of business applications that can be transmitted over this standard.
"This work has helped validate our belief that ATM will form the basis of future public broadband networks," he added. "This has led Tellabs, Shannon, to invest heavily in the development of broadband telecommunications equipment for the global marketplace."
The scale of Tellab's investment can be seen in the new building being constructed on the Shannon Industrial Estate, not far from the company's current premises. When it is finished this summer, it will facilitate the growth of the Tellabs' workforce from around 260 to 470. This includes at present almost 100 people in R&D, with the workforce expected to grow to 160. Almost all its focus will be on ATM.
