EU Projects COST291 Towards Digital Optical Networks   Programme: COST - European Cooperation in the Field of Scientific and Technical Research. List of Partners: Belgium (IMEC, University of Ghent) Czech Republic (Czech Academy of Sciences) Croatia (University of Zagreb) France (ENST) Germany (University of Stuttgart, University of Kiel, Munich University of Technology, Heinrich - Hertz - Institut) Greece (RESIT/AIT) Hungary (Budapest University of Technology and Economics) Ireland (University College Cork) Italy (Fondazione Ugo Bordoni, Politecnico di Torino) Norway (Norwegian Univ. of Science and Technology) Poland (National Institute of Telecommunications, Wroclaw University of Technology) Portugal (Universidade de Aveiro, SIEMENS) Spain (Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Public University of Navarra, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Polytechnic University of Cartagena) Sweden (KTH, Royal Institute of Technology) Switzerland (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) United Kingdom (University of Essex, Cambridge University, Southampton University, University of Wales Swansea, Centre for Integrated Photonics, Intel Research Cambridge) AIT Funding: 40,000 EURO per year for management and short term missions, plus funding of travel and subsistence costs Project Duration: 48 months Project Start Date: Within 2004, upon completion of contract signing phase. Objectives /Goals: The primary objective of this COST action is to focus on novel network concepts and architectures exploiting the features and properties of photonic technologies, to enable future telecommunications networks. It is aiming to propose a new generation of systems and networks that will accommodate the unpredictable and growing size of data files and messages exchanged and stored as well as real time services (e.g. voice, video etc.) over global distances requiring an agile Communication Grid supporting quality of services. The systems proposed by this project need to be very flexible and rapidly reactive to efficiently accommodate any changes in traffic statistics introduced by current and future applications with low end-to-end latency. They will enable advanced features such as efficient and simple multicasting and broadcasting of broadband signals. In general, they need to support a future proof, flexible, efficient and bandwidth-abundant fiber-optic network infrastructure capable of supporting ubiquitous services in a resilient manner offering protection and restoration capabilities as well as secure services to the users. In particular, this project will cover among others: (i) Transparency to various digital signals and protocols which is required to eliminate the need for multilayer complex network architectures; (ii) Flat and upgradeable network architectures supporting photonic core and access technologies with intelligent edge nodes at the interfaces will form a universal infrastructure offering a variety of services supported by multiple operators; (iii) Advanced routing and management mechanisms; (iv) Optical signal processing and dynamic impairment management to eliminate the limitations of the analogue nature of traditional optical networks; and (v) optical packet and/or burst switching to provide fine bandwidth granularity, network efficiency and flexibility. Project WEB site: http://palantir.ait.edu.gr/cost291