WIT News

March 10 2010:- The Telecommunications Software & Systems Group (TSSG) based in Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) is officially launching Ireland’s national NGN (Next Generation Network) Test Centre.  Funded in association with Enterprise Ireland, with support from Ericsson Ireland Ltd, this test centre enables Irish software firms to trial their mobile services on a private telecommunications network.

According to NGN Test Centre Manager, Shane Dempsey, Ireland’s only NGN test centre is open for business in WIT. This is the first centre in academia and one of only of six in Europe. Equivalent to a commercial-grade telecommunications network, it enables entrepreneurs to test and improve their products. 

Using NGN infrastructure, voice, data, video and other types of information can be transmitted over one network with Internet technology.  Globally, the NGN business opportunity is massive. NGN technology is backwards-compatible, meaning that it can work with existing ‘plain old telephone services’ (known as POTS) while creating new and global opportunities for service developers over the next few years.

Technology research firm Gartner predicts that the NGN services market in North America alone will be $14bn by 2015 and annual sales of NGN infrastructure products will increase by 60% over the next five years.  The test centre’s mission is to assist Irish firms in taking advantage of this lucrative opportunity.

“The team behind the centre has been engaged in a three month trial with partners including Ericsson and Eircom to refine the service offering and ensure the infrastructure realistically mimics an operator’s network. The NGN Test centre will provide prototype development, testing and consulting services to potential clients.  A testing team will check functionality, standards compliance, performance and interoperability.  The consulting arm will work with clients in analysing the feasibility of NGN solutions and markets along with determining a product roadmap.

“Following extensive training from Ericsson Ireland, our staff can now provide clients with validation that the products they are developing are robust , commercially viable and can meet real-life demands.  Access to this type of R&D infrastructure is an important step in establishing Ireland as an innovative leader in this area. In time, we hope to become an internationally recognised Centre of Excellence.“

John Hennessy, managing director of Ericsson Ireland Ltd who provided the technology, agreed saying, “We see collaboration between industry and academia as an important step towards enabling a smart economy within Ireland and we are delighted to partner with TSSG on this project."

In response to strong industrial demand from the indigenous telecommunications sector, Enterprise Ireland, in collaboration with the TSSG, decided that establishing an NGN test centre in Ireland would have the potential to expand the domestic telecoms market, create jobs and encourage new foreign direct investment.

According to Gearóid Mooney, ICT Commercialisation Director, Enterprise Ireland, “One of the biggest hurdles facing companies is persuading network operators to try their technology for fear that new products might crash networks. The NGN Test Centre will reduce the barriers to entry for any firm wishing to enter this profitable marketplace.”

Located at the TSSG, part of Waterford Institute of Technology, the test centre is available to telecoms and software companies from Ireland and around the world from the beginning of March.
 
For more information or to REGISTER for the event visit http://www.ngntestcentre.com or to find out about  TSSG, visit http://www.tssg.org