TEN-IBC: Preparatory actions and feasibility studies, 1994
In December 1993, the European Commission awarded 14 contracts for the "Trans-European Networks, Integrated Broadband Communications (TEN-IBC)" preparatory action. The resulting projects, described in a report now available, are a stepping stone for detecting and understanding the barriers hampering the development of TEN-IBC. They identify the end-user broadband communication needs and match them with the technology and networking infrastructure that will soon become available. Collectively, these projects are undertaking a process of consultation and cooperation between the end-users, the network operators, the equipment manufacturers, and the service providers. This cooperation takes place through a number of Common Interest Groups that gather actors belonging to the same domain. European-wide trials of their specifications will take place once these are published. This is foreseen as taking place in mid-1994.