Govt’s newest fibre broadband network involves 64 patents

A new high-speed fibre broadband network owned entirely by the Irish Government involves the ingenuity of a number of Irish-based companies and includes 64 revolutionary patents that will define future communications.

The Exemplar Test Bed, forged as part of a partnership between the Government and Intune networks involving a €5m investment and 80 new jobs, will utilise the technology invented in Ireland.

Intune’s technology – Optical Packet Switch and Transport – could potentially replace the thousands of silicon computer chips used in internet switches today. Essentially, they have invented a network for the high-speed, low-energy, high-quality transfer of data.

This technology can eliminate costly bottlenecks of data on networks. The dramatic reductions in the amount of energy they use make this technology an attractive prospect for major international companies.

Communications Minister Eamon Ryan TD announced that the Government would invest €5 million in Phase I of this project. The aim is that companies will use the test bed for Research and Development purposes.

Already, companies such as Eircom, EMC, Imagine, BT, IBM, ESB Telecom, E-Net, Firecomms, Openet and CeltixConnect have entered into discussions with the Department. UCD, DCU, UCC Tyndall, NUI Galway and Science Foundation Ireland have also expressed an interest in using this technology for their research purposes.

The test bed has 64 granted patents which secure the technology and which ensure that Ireland is the first country in the world to offer such a facility. The test bed is 100pc owned by the Government.

The test bed will be built in Parkwest Business Park in Dublin and will be open for business, on an open-access basis, in July of this year. Eighty jobs will be created directly in Phase I.

“Today we are investing in the new economy,” Ryan said. “This technology was invented in Irish universities and developed by an Irish company. It has the potential to revolutionise the internet, transferring data faster and in higher quality than previous technology.


“Their invention also vastly reduces the associated energy costs. It represents a very exciting prospect to test the applications and services of the future internet.

“Our partnership with Intune is unique. Government is making the initial investment, will own the test bed and will ensure it is operated on an open access basis, so that companies and universities can use the network for their own research and development.

“Last year, we launched our strategy for the development of the digital economy in Ireland. Less than a year later we will be up and running with a revolutionary new network that will position Ireland as an international test bed for high-tech, low-energy technology,” Ryan said.

“We are investing in ourselves, in our own ingenuity. We are betting on ourselves and in so doing helping to create the technology and jobs of tomorrow,” Ryan said.

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Start-ups gaining from technology recovery - Irish Times

Intune Networks, the maker of telecoms equipment for high-bandwidth transmission, enjoyed one of the largest increases in its score on the index, rising from 63 last December to 72 this week. That score does not include yesterday’s announcement that a number of telecoms firms are seeking to carry out tests of its Government-backed Exemplar Network.

Intune reached several milestones in the past few months. It is part of an EU consortium, including Telefónica, which is researching the design of a telecoms network for cloud computing.

Irish Times Tech Top 50
Current score and Dec. 2009 score
Newbay 83 (81)
Globoforce 75 (74)
Openmind Networks 73 (NA)
Intune Networks 72 (63)
CarTrawler 66 (61)
Realex Payments 65 (64)
eRepublik 64 (58)
Equiendo 63 (63)
Ammado 62 (68)
....

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Communications network to create 80 jobs - RTE News

80 jobs are to be created by the developers of a high-speed, low-energy communications network.

The exemplar communications test bed is being developed by Dublin-based firm Intune Networks and supported by a €5m investment by the Government.

The aim is to ensure high-quality data can be transferred quickly without generating big energy bills.

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Intune Networks Welcomes Government Announcement on Commencement of Exemplar Network Build-Out

Intune Networks, the Dublin based telecoms equipment supplier, today warmly welcomed the fact that the building of the Exemplar Network is due to commence. Final contracts for the deployment of the Network were signed at a press conference with Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan today at Government Buildings.

Intune Networks unique technology was chosen by the Government last July as a key component for the development and roll out of the network in Ireland. The first phase of the development of the Network will see the establishment of a Control Network Facility in Parkwest, Dublin, with the rollout of the first phase of the Operational Network to follow later in the year.

Commenting at the press conference where the contracts for the Exemplar Network were signed Tim Fritzley, CEO, Intune Networks said: “I congratulate the Government on its vision in seeking to build the World’s first web programmable network. The Exemplar Network will be a key piece of infrastructure in the development of the Smart Economy and will help Ireland to regain its competitive advantage.

“This network will act as a magnet to innovative and creative people all across the world helping to ensure that increasing amounts of IP and product development will happen here in Ireland. The Exemplar Network has the capacity to be the catalyst for economic growth in Ireland and we are delighted to be part of this exciting project which will help to foster hundreds, if not thousands of jobs, through the development of an indigenous ecosystem of companies, who will use it as a platform for developing and testing new applications as well as attracting international investment.”

Intune Networks has developed the world’s first programmable fibre optical packet switching platform which is critical to building an Exemplar Smart Network. Developing this technology has the potential to position Ireland for a wave of opportunities based on the future of the Internet that up to now have been considered an area of expertise of regions like Silicon Valley in the US and several Far Eastern countries who are pushing the boundaries of consumer broadband networks. The network will be the first step in creating a next generation smart and green communications infrastructure for Ireland.

John Dunne, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Intune Networks noted: “We are very excited about commencing the work on this critical project to ensure we can play our part in helping to deliver this strategy. We have spent the past ten years developing the technology to address the challenge presented by growing traffic on the internet. Our technology uses up to 75% less energy than today’s networks which are dominated by electronics. This green and smart network will enable new consumer, business and mobile data services to be delivered with 50% less cost and with major advancement in the quality of experience for end users.”

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Press Release - Ireland to build revolutionary high-speed telecoms network - DCENR

€5 million investment by Government in Irish technology 80 jobs to be directly created in Phase I

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan today announced a partnership with Intune Networks to establish the first exemplar communications test bed.

The Exemplar Test Bed will utilise the technology invented in Ireland by two graduate students from UCD and developed by Irish company Intune Networks.

The company has invented a technology – Optical Packet Switch and Transport – which could potentially replace the thousands of silicon computer chips used in internet switches today. Essentially, they have invented a network for the high-speed, low-energy, high-quality transfer of data.

This technology can eliminate costly bottlenecks of data on networks. The dramatic reductions in the amount of energy they use make this technology an attractive prospect for major international companies.

Today, the Minister announced that the Government would invest €5 million in Phase I of this project. The aim is that companies will use the test bed for Research and Development purposes. Already, companies such as Eircom, EMC, Imagine, BT, IBM, ESB Telecom, Imagine, e-Net, Firecomms, Opennet and CeltixConnect have entered into discussions with the Department.

UCD, DCU, UCC Tyndall, NUI Galway and Science Foundation Ireland have also expressed an interest in using this technology for their research purposes.

The test-bed has 64 granted patents which secure the technology and which ensure that Ireland is the first country in the world to offer such a facility. The test-bed is 100% owned by the Government.

The Test-bed will be build in Parkwest Business Park in Dublin and will be open for business, on an open-access basis, in July of this year. 80 jobs will be created directly in Phase I.

Announcing the initiative the Minister said, “Today we are investing in the new economy. This technology was invented in Irish universities and developed by an Irish company. It has the potential to revolutionise the internet, transferring data faster and in higher quality than previous technology. Their invention also vastly reduces the associated energy costs. It represents a very exciting prospect to test the applications and services of the future internet.

Our partnership with Intune is unique. Government is making the initial investment, will own the test-bed and will ensure it is operated on an open access basis, so that companies and universities can use the network for their own research and development.

Last year, we launched our strategy for the development of the digital economy in Ireland. Less than a year later we will be up and running with a revolutionary new network that will position Ireland as an international test bed for high-tech, low-energy technology.

We are investing in ourselves, in our own ingenuity. We are betting on ourselves and in so doing helping to create the technology and jobs of tomorrow.”

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Intune Develops Fiber Optical Platform to Support Development of Exemplar Network in Ireland

Final contracts for the deployment of the Network were signed at a press conference with Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan today at Government Buildings.

Intune Networks unique technology was chosen by the Government last July as a key component for the development and roll out of the network in Ireland. The first phase of the development of the Network will see the establishment of a Control Network Facility in Parkwest, Dublin, with the rollout of the first phase of the Operational Network to follow later in the year.

Commenting at the press conference where the contracts for the Exemplar Network were signed Tim Fritzley, CEO, Intune Networks said: “I congratulate the Government on its vision in seeking to build the World’s first web programmable network. The Exemplar Network will be a key piece of infrastructure in the development of the Smart Economy and will help Ireland to regain its competitive advantage.

“This network will act as a magnet to innovative and creative people all across the world helping to ensure that increasing amounts of IP and product development will happen here in Ireland. The Exemplar Network has the capacity to be the catalyst for economic growth in Ireland and we are delighted to be part of this exciting project which will help to foster hundreds, if not thousands of jobs, through the development of an indigenous ecosystem of companies, who will use it as a platform for developing and testing new applications as well as attracting international investment.”

Intune Networks has developed the world’s first programmable fibre optical packet switching platform which is critical to building an Exemplar Smart Network. Developing this technology has the potential to position Ireland for a wave of opportunities based on the future of the Internet that up to now have been considered an area of expertise of regions like Silicon Valley in the US and several Far Eastern countries who are pushing the boundaries of consumer broadband networks. The network will be the first step in creating a next generation smart and green communications infrastructure for Ireland.

John Dunne, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Intune Networks noted: “We are very excited about commencing the work on this critical project to ensure we can play our part in helping to deliver this strategy. We have spent the past ten years developing the technology to address the challenge presented by growing traffic on the internet. Our technology uses up to 75% less energy than today’s networks which are dominated by electronics. This green and smart network will enable new consumer, business and mobile data services to be delivered with 50% less cost and with major advancement in the quality of experience for end users.”

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State's €5m internet investment - Irish Times

THE DEPARTMENT of Communications has become a direct investor in research, putting €5 million into a new kind of communications network that could revolutionise internet traffic.

Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan described the investment as “unique” yesterday in Dublin as he announced support for the “Exemplar Test Bed”.

It will be used to help research into a new way of transmitting data over the internet that is many times faster and uses much less electricity than existing communications networks, Mr Ryan said.

Irish company Intune Networks developed the technology behind Exemplar. The project will create an initial 80 jobs, with the network coming into operation by this July.

Exemplar technology will also be introduced within Ireland, first in Dublin and then across the country, Mr Ryan told a gathering at Government Buildings that included representatives from Ireland’s top computer and communications companies.

It greatly simplifies data transmission and increases speed by splitting light signals travelling through fibre optic cables into 84 separate parts.

The department did not invest directly in Intune, Mr Ryan said. It paid for a licence from Intune and then hired the company to install and develop the Exemplar test network, which will connect Cork and Tralee.

Intune retains full control over the technology and has international patents, Mr Ryan said.

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Government investing €5m in Intune.. - Business And Leadership

The Government today announced it is investing €5m in Intune to allow it to develop an exemplar communications test bed, the technology for which was invented in Ireland by two graduate students from UCD.

Intune is developing this technology, which could potentially replace the thousands of silicon computer chips used in internet switches today. As a result it can eliminate costly bottlenecks of data on networks and allow the high-speed, low-energy, high-quality transfer of data. The subsequent dramatic reductions in the amount of energy used also make this technology an attractive prospect for major international companies.

Test bed 100pc-owned by Government
The test bed, which will be 100pc-owned by the Government, will be built in Parkwest Business Park in Dublin and will be open for business, on an open-access basis, in July of this year, creating 80 jobs in its first phase.

The test bed has 64 granted patents which secure the technology and which ensure that Ireland is the first country in the world to offer such a facility.

The aim is that companies will use the test bed for R&D purposes. The Department of Communications said that companies such as Eircom, EMC, Imagine, BT, IBM, ESB Telecom, Imagine, e-Net, Firecomms, Opennet and CeltixConnect have entered into discussions with it on the test bed.

UCD, DCU, UCC Tyndall, NUI Galway and Science Foundation Ireland have also expressed an interest in using this technology for their research purpose, the department said..

Potential to revolutionise the internet
“Today we are investing in the new economy. This technology was invented in Irish universities and developed by an Irish company. It has the potential to revolutionise the internet, transferring data faster and in higher quality than previous technology,” said Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan TD.

The Minister said Intune’s invention also vastly reduces the associated energy costs. “It represents a very exciting prospect to test the applications and services of the future internet,” he added.

“Our partnership with Intune is unique. Government is making the initial investment, will own the test-bed and will ensure it is operated on an open access basis, so that companies and universities can use the network for their own R&D.

“Last year, we launched our strategy for the development of the digital economy in Ireland. Less than a year later we will be up and running with a revolutionary new network that will position Ireland as an international test bed for high-tech, low-energy technology," the Minister added. “We are investing in ourselves, in our own ingenuity. We are betting on ourselves and in so doing helping to create the technology and jobs of tomorrow.”

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Intune Networks promises 80 new jobs... - RTE

80 jobs are to be created by the developer of a high speed but low energy-using communications network.

The 'Exemplar communications test bed' is being developed by Irish company Intune Networks and supported by a €5m investment by the Government.

The aim is to ensure high quality data can be transferred quickly without generating big energy bills. This is an attractive proposition for international technology companies who have been troubled by costly bottlenecks on data networks.

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"Evolving Communications Networks" - Royal Irish Academy

The Royal Irish Academy in collaboration with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources presents, “Evolving Communications Networks: Education in the Service of Ireland’s Next Generation Network Infrastructure Needs”...

Presenting at this workshop was Tim Fritzley, Chief Executive Office of InTune Networks Ltd.

Presentation Title:
“Developments in IP Network design: the latest innovations in the design of IP Networks such as the use of tunable lasers and the integration of switching and transmission functions in optical networks”

Presentation Slides:

'Spotlight' Seminar features Intune Networks co-founder...

The Irish Times in association with Prosperity is proud to launch, 'Spotlight'. Breaking the boundaries is the first in the series of Spotlight events, delivering quality, innovative and motivational speakers from home and abroad. Breaking the Boundaries takes place on April 23rd in the Mansion House from 2pm to 4pm.

Keynote Speaker:
Guy Kawasaki
Venture Capitalist

Guy Kawasaki is the managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm and a columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine.He established his professional reputation as a software evangelist at Apple Computer Inc. back in the 80s. He now leads a peripatetic existence and counts blogger, venture capitalist, author and speaker amongst his credentials.

Also
John Dunne - Chief Marketing Officer
Intune Networks

John co-founded Intune in 1999 with Tom Farrell following EU-funded research work at University College Dublin. From 1999-2004 John was CEO of Intune and led the company successfully through its early development phase. In 2005, John took up the position of CMO. He is currently responsible for Product & Market strategy, Product Management, Release Management and all Marketing activities. John has a first class honours electronics degree and a PhD in the field of tunable lasers from UCD and has spent 14 years working on the application of these devices into telecommunications systems. He is a co-inventor on some of Intune's core intellectual property on network systems.

Get Tickets
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Intune Networks to drive fibre revolution into US market...

Intune Networks, the company behind the world’s first programmable fibre optical packet switching platform that will handle future TV and web, has expanded into the US with the opening of its first office in Boston.

Intune has recruited two senior industry veterans to spearhead the company’s entry into the US market.

Jim Lowrie, a 28 year stalwart of the telecommunications industry, has been appointed as Vice President of Sales and Business Development for the Americas with responsibility for Sales, Business Development and Partnering opportunities for Intune’s expansion in the USA.

In addition Jim Aitken, another 20 year plus industry veteran, is joining Intune as the Senior Director Technical Marketing and Product Management, Americas. Jim will manage Intune’s product features and carrier outreach programmes critical to ensuring that Intune’s next generation technology is well understood and positioned with the leading American carriers.

“With the rollout of Intune’s commercial product this year, a base in the USA is critical for our expansion,” Tim Fritzley, CEO of Intune Networks explained.

“There are tremendous global opportunities for Intune Networks to deliver its innovative technology to help revolutionise how next generation networks and web services are developed and delivered. Our US employee base will be a key element in expanding Intune’s market coverage beyond the European carriers into North America and beyond.

“We are delighted to have brought in two such senior members of the telecommunications industry to lead our expansion into the US. Their depth of experience with other global equipment vendors and years of working with and for the leading carriers in the Americas make them uniquely qualified to help Intune maximize the opportunity is this large and crucial market,” Fritzley said.

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