The smart economy is the holy grail for many politicians but it faces many challenges in the real world, writes Fearghal O'Connor.
These days the phrase "knowledge economy" is bandied about like a salve for all our ills. But are the challenges we face in building such a thing really understood by those who matter? Out in Dublin's Park West business park one company defines the knowledge economy and all that it might or might not be for Ireland.
In 2002 Tim Fritzley was living in California, running Microsoft TV and earning a lot of money. An Irish investor friend asked him to take a look at and size up a then tiny company called Intune Networks run by two UCD PhD graduates, Tom Farrell and John Dunne.
"They flew to California and I spent two days with them and they convinced me that they had solved a very complex problem that the telecommunications industry had been working on for 25 or 30 years," he says.
He agreed to advise them and by 2006 he had packed in his job with Microsoft and moved to Dublin to become chief executive. At that time the company employed 16 people but has grown to 120 people and it is expected to employ 200 by the end of the year. It has developed hugely innovative optical switching systems using tunable lasers for the telecoms industry. It is currently preparing to bring its networking products to market. Fritzley says that in five years the company is likely to employ 2000 people, many of them in high end jobs.
But Intune Networks may also prove to be a terrible indictment of Ireland's efforts to create a knowledge economy. Fritzley says that the question of whether the company should relocate away from this country is a constant and growing issue for its board.
"That question is not settled and it is going to be an ongoing question that my board of directors will continuously ask: is Ireland the right place to be? We have kept the company here to date to get through the first cycle of product development. But it will come down to having the right infrastructure and the right regulatory and tax regime to make it beneficial to launch a big company here."
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Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
MAINS Project Presentation...
MAINS - Metro Architectures enablINg Sub-wavelengths - Project Presentation
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View MAINS Presentation
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Intune Networks awarded major EU contract...
Intune Networks, the company selected by the Irish State to build its Exemplar next-generation network, has been awarded a major EU contract as part of a consortium involving telecom players Telefónica and PrimeTel.
The company which makes tunable laser technology that will define the future of fibre networks is part of a consortium of companies and universities awarded a major R&D contract under the EU 7th Framework.
The Telecoms Network for Cloud Computing
Intune will provide its unique technology to the program to design a future Telecoms Network for Cloud Computing. The consortium includes national telecoms operators Telefónica in Spain and PrimeTel in Cyprus. The consortium also includes Italian software company Nextworks, and the University of Essex and University Autonoma Madrid.
The consortium – led by Telefónica - will design and demonstrate a network that will allow the next generation of ICT services to be rolled out, giving increased flexibility, control and mobility to businesses and consumers alike, while significantly lowering costs.
A key application is the virtualisation of the standard personal computer, pushing it into what is known as the Cloud. The Cloud permits each user to utilise a low-cost, low-power device - whilst their data and computer power sits inside the network.
Widespread deployment of this type of cloud computing could dramatically reduce the energy bills of users and operators, while also delivering social and economic benefits to the IT industry.
What is the Metro Architectures Enabling Sub-Wavelengths?
The EU Programme is entitled MAINS – Metro Architectures Enabling Sub-Wavelengths. The programme is part of a larger EU Framework which will research the Network of the Future. The MAINS project will design a programmable network to demonstrate a practical way to implement cloud computing in future telecoms networks. Future IT applications can use this programming interface to program liquid bandwidth on-demand to service their requirements.
“We are proud to engage and participate in a European research project like MAINS. As an alternative operator working in a highly competitive environment, it is of essence to us to stay in touch with the latest technological developments and be ready to offer next-generation services,” said Vladimir Ivashchenko, chief technology officer of PrimeTel.
“MAINS provides a unique opportunity to trial a cutting-edge networking technology which will help PrimeTel to stay ahead of competition in future.”
The work of Intune Networks
Dublin-based Intune Networks, formed in 1999 by a group of ex-UCD photonics researchers, has developed a technology that can enable a single strand of fibre to move from carrying one signal from one operator to carrying data from 80 telecoms and TV companies all at once.
Last July, it emerged that Ireland is to become the test bed for Intune’s revolutionary technology. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan TD, contracted Intune to trial its technology here first before it hits mass manufacture. The solution – the Exemplar Network – could sort out the country’s broadband woes and catapult Ireland to the cutting edge of telecoms before anybody else.
The move will grow Intune from 100 workers in Dublin and Belfast today to employing an additional 300 people over the next three years.
“It is a major vote of confidence in Intune’s technology to be part of such a high-profile EU research grant,” Tim Fritzley, CEO of Intune Networks explained. “We are delighted to be working with such high-calibre partners from both the commercial and academic communities. This places Intune Networks at the cutting edge of future telecoms network development in Europe."
Fritzley explained the problem Intune has solved is how to evolve telecoms network architectures to cope with the massive increase in traffic demand while sustaining profitability and controlling costs.
“Intune has packaged this breakthrough technology into a carrier-grade networking system with a modern software interface, which we will use to work with the consortium as a critical element in developing the Network of the Future.”
Read More
The company which makes tunable laser technology that will define the future of fibre networks is part of a consortium of companies and universities awarded a major R&D contract under the EU 7th Framework.
The Telecoms Network for Cloud Computing
Intune will provide its unique technology to the program to design a future Telecoms Network for Cloud Computing. The consortium includes national telecoms operators Telefónica in Spain and PrimeTel in Cyprus. The consortium also includes Italian software company Nextworks, and the University of Essex and University Autonoma Madrid.
The consortium – led by Telefónica - will design and demonstrate a network that will allow the next generation of ICT services to be rolled out, giving increased flexibility, control and mobility to businesses and consumers alike, while significantly lowering costs.
A key application is the virtualisation of the standard personal computer, pushing it into what is known as the Cloud. The Cloud permits each user to utilise a low-cost, low-power device - whilst their data and computer power sits inside the network.
Widespread deployment of this type of cloud computing could dramatically reduce the energy bills of users and operators, while also delivering social and economic benefits to the IT industry.
What is the Metro Architectures Enabling Sub-Wavelengths?
The EU Programme is entitled MAINS – Metro Architectures Enabling Sub-Wavelengths. The programme is part of a larger EU Framework which will research the Network of the Future. The MAINS project will design a programmable network to demonstrate a practical way to implement cloud computing in future telecoms networks. Future IT applications can use this programming interface to program liquid bandwidth on-demand to service their requirements.
“We are proud to engage and participate in a European research project like MAINS. As an alternative operator working in a highly competitive environment, it is of essence to us to stay in touch with the latest technological developments and be ready to offer next-generation services,” said Vladimir Ivashchenko, chief technology officer of PrimeTel.
“MAINS provides a unique opportunity to trial a cutting-edge networking technology which will help PrimeTel to stay ahead of competition in future.”
The work of Intune Networks
Dublin-based Intune Networks, formed in 1999 by a group of ex-UCD photonics researchers, has developed a technology that can enable a single strand of fibre to move from carrying one signal from one operator to carrying data from 80 telecoms and TV companies all at once.
Last July, it emerged that Ireland is to become the test bed for Intune’s revolutionary technology. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan TD, contracted Intune to trial its technology here first before it hits mass manufacture. The solution – the Exemplar Network – could sort out the country’s broadband woes and catapult Ireland to the cutting edge of telecoms before anybody else.
The move will grow Intune from 100 workers in Dublin and Belfast today to employing an additional 300 people over the next three years.
“It is a major vote of confidence in Intune’s technology to be part of such a high-profile EU research grant,” Tim Fritzley, CEO of Intune Networks explained. “We are delighted to be working with such high-calibre partners from both the commercial and academic communities. This places Intune Networks at the cutting edge of future telecoms network development in Europe."
Fritzley explained the problem Intune has solved is how to evolve telecoms network architectures to cope with the massive increase in traffic demand while sustaining profitability and controlling costs.
“Intune has packaged this breakthrough technology into a carrier-grade networking system with a modern software interface, which we will use to work with the consortium as a critical element in developing the Network of the Future.”
Read More
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