ISDN proposal
A Commission proposal for a Council Decision on a series of guidelines for the development of ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Networks) as a trans-European network (COM(93) 347) was submitted to the Council and the European Parliament on 1 September 1993. The proposed Decision lays down the guidelines identifying the objectives, priorities, broad lines of measures and a number of projects of common interest in this area. The two stated objectives are: - The availability of ISDN facilities including a basic set of services fully conforming to harmonized European standards, referred to as EURO-ISDN; - The full geographical coverage of EURO-ISDN facilities in all Member States. Priorities established for the attainment of these objectives include: -To contribute to the rapid availability of EURO-ISDN facilities for all business users, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); - To maximize the usage of EURO-ISDN in the Community; - To facilitate access of the peripheral regions by means of EURO-ISDN. The broad lines of action designed to attain the objectives of the proposal are: - To ensure the end-to-end operability of telematic services; - Migration of public and private sector applications to EURO-ISDN; - Promotion of EURO-ISDN terminal availability. The development of ISDN as a trans-European network shall take the form of projects of common interest. These are briefly described in an Annex to the proposed Decision. The Commission is to be authorized to open negotiations with non-Community countries likely to conclude agreements with the Community which will allow them to participate in the projects of common interest and to improve interconnectivity and interoperability of ISDN between those countries and the Member States.