Minister Rabbitte Opens Showcase of Telecommunications Research that will benefit the Economy
Posted on: 13 September 2013
A showcase of leading research developed by CTVR, the national telecommunications research centre headquartered at Trinity College Dublin, focusing on technology innovations for the Irish and global telecommunications sector was opened today by the Minister for Communications, Energy and National Resources, Pat Rabbitte.
“High speed connectivity is one of the key drivers of economic activity in Ireland. It is necessary for stimulating indigenous entrepreneurial activity and lays the foundation for sustained future growth by ensuring that Ireland is an attractive location for international companies. The research outputs of CTVR are all about ensuring that networks are designed to be able to provide the kind of connectivity that is needed in a low-cost and sustainable manner. This research demonstrates the critical links between research and enterprise that lead ultimately to job creation,” said Minister Rabbitte on the occasion of the opening.
TCD Provost Dr Patrick Prendergast and Minister Rabbitte at the showcase of telecommunications research.
This event highlights the industry-informed research carried out by CTVR and demonstrates the value to Ireland of continued investment in such high quality research. There were over 50 exhibits on display at the CTVR showcase. The exhibits included solutions for providing low-cost rural broadband, technologies for future mobile networks, antennas for wireless communications and healthcare, advanced solutions for cooling wireless and optical devices among other technologies. Five CTVR spin-out companies and a number of licensed technologies were also on display.
The Provost of Trinity, Dr Patrick Prendergast, said: “CTVR, headquartered in Trinity, has national and global reach as a leader in research and development of future telecommunications infrastructure and technologies. The information economy, where Ireland has strengths, is increasingly dependent on fast connectivity and the adaptability of telecommunications infrastructure. CTVR is a key player in driving innovation in that sector for Ireland, and much of our success in attracting foreign direct investment and starting our own scalable companies will depend on the industry-informed research carried out by Trinity and its partner institutions.”
Another example of the exhibits on display was a collaboration with Intel Labs Europe that uses the ‘TV white space’, freed up by the analogue TV switch off, to support an environmental measurement system using remote sensors in Dublin city that measure noise, temperature, humidity and dust levels. The information is communicated to Intel’s Ambient Intelligence Platform using an 18km TV white space link. It is built to enable intelligent decisions to be made about the environment so that pre-emptive action can be taken in response to emerging problems. The system is designed to potentially support millions of devices using an alternative, lower-cost approach to conventional wireless networks.
CTVR Director, Professor Linda Doyle said: “There is a very vibrant communications sector in Ireland and CTVR is playing a leading role in orchestrating large-scale collaborations between industry and academia in this space. Our plans to build a Future Networks and Communications Centre that takes these collaborations to an even greater scale are underway. The showcase provides an opportunity to show what has been achieved to date and what is possible for the future .”
Delegates from indigenous and foreign telecommunications companies the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, ComReg, The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, academia, students and general public were in attendance at the telecommunications showcase.