Eighty jobs are set to be created by Irish company Intune Networks as it develops a new high-tech communications network.
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, 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 purposes, 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.”
Article courtesy of Businessandleadership.com
