Replacing the TEN-34
The Trans-European Network Interconnect at 34 Mbp/s (TEN-34) will be replaced with a new TEN-155 network starting in December 1998, providing European researchers with a more reliable high-speed data infrastructure with increased capacity. TEN-155 will have access capacities of 155 Mbp/s in a total of eight European countries and will be the largest operational pan-European network. This transition will be funded by the EU within the framework of the "Telematics for Research" sector of the Telematics Applications programme and the ESPRIT (Information Technologies) research programme. The TEN-155 will provide researchers across Europe with a core transmission network of 155 Mbp/s circuits and nodes in eight European countries, with others remaining connected to the core at 34/45 Mbp/s. This means that for the first time, and as a direct result of the liberalisation of the European telecommunications market, pan-European bandwidth will equal bandwidth available within national research networks. The design of the TEN-155 network also provides for the extension of the service to the United States and other continents. A combination of IP, ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) and SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) technologies will be used within TEN-155. The network will be based on SDH circuits with an ATM overlay which allows for bandwidth management and the optimal loading of SDH capacity. A conventional IP service will run on top of a full mesh of ATM virtual circuits. The project coordinators will also be able to offer both a Managed Bandwidth Service to specific user groups and the temporary set-up of Virtual Paths with guaranteed bandwidth between national research networks.