Global interoperability of broadband networks - a progress report

Global Interoperability for Broadband Networks (G7) is one of 11 pilot projects launched at the G7 Ministerial Conference on Information Society held in Brussels in February 1995. The project aims to promote global interoperability and interconnectivity of high-speed networks and testbeds and to encourage the development of broadband applications through the establishment and testing of intercontinental links and trial applications. With a view to increasing the general awareness of the potential of broadband applications, the initial phase of the project was focused on the trials and demonstrations of a series of selected applications. With the generous support of several international telecommunications and satellite carriers who provide trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific sub-marine fibre optic and satellite links, 14 initial broadband applications projects were launched in May 1996 during the Ministerial Conference on Information Society and Development (ISAD), held in Midrand, South Africa. Four additional projects were subsequently added. Most of these applications employed ATM transmissions scheme at 45 mbps or higher. Applications range from telemedicine, virtual classroom, collaborative simulation, high-definition video post-production, to multimedia teleservices to aircraft industry. Many of the 18 broadband applications projects have been successfully concluded, with others being currently underway. While trials and demonstrations of specific applications are useful and essential, the GIBN Steering Committee also recognized the importance of achieving interconnectivity and interoperability on a network-wide basis, through which unlimited number of applications could be engendered. Therefore, in January 1997, the Committee decided to move forward to the current second phase, which focuses on facilitating the interconnections of national and regional networks and testbeds across all the continents. To this end, various technical, operational and financial issues are presently being addressed, in cooperation with other international and regional organizations with similar objectives. In this presentation, the results of the application trials, the current status, and the future plans of the project will be discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.