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TRLabs Launches One of Canada's Fastest Research Networks

Two features of the $10.6 million dollar network that links TRLabs facilities in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg - its speed, and its ability to be used without impacting other network traffic - position TRnet as a network development tool that enables unprecedented research and commercialization opportunities for TRLabs members.

TRnet's 10 Gigabit/second speed is 10,000 times faster than typical data rates available on today’s high-speed DSL/cable connection to the home. This speed makes TRnet an ideal means to research network and application innovations needed to drive growing consumer demand for real-time, dynamic, and interactive Internet content and communications experiences. For TRLabs’ industry members, the ability to freely experiment with a captive network will significantly reduce the time and risk associated with introducing new networking concepts and services.

TRnet is the realization of investment from a number of government and industry partners.

"The launch of TRnet represents a significant boost to Canada’s capacity to effectively compete in the global technology arena," said Dr. Eliot Phillipson, President and CEO of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). "Networks like this one will become essential links in Canada’s innovation chain. The CFI is proud to be a part of it."

"Innovation drives economic growth and provides entrepreneurs and small businesses with a competitive edge in the global marketplace," said the Honourable Carol Skelton, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of Western Economic Diversification. "Our investment in TRnet will ensure research, development and commercialization of new technologies."

"TRnet plays a valuable role in accelerating innovation in the information and communications technology sector," said Victor Doerksen, Minister of Alberta Innovation and Science. "The Alberta government’s participation in this project builds on our commitment to help create an environment that supports new discoveries and continues to attract top research talent to our province."

"This investment will strengthen Manitoba’s research capacity through infrastructure development and will increase economic growth in the province," said Manitoba Energy, Science and Technology Minister Dave Chomiak. "The ability to conduct research on a closed network of this speed -- 10 Gigabits per second -- will play a significant role in developing innovative applications that will foster technology and business partnerships in Manitoba, Canada and beyond."

"Innovative research and development bridges the gap between theory and application and TRnet is a wonderful example of what is possible," said Ibrahim Gedeon, TELUS' Chief Technology Officer. "TELUS is proud to be a member of TRLabs and a major contributor to TRnet. We look forward to exploring the many commercialization opportunities this presents."

Nortel, one of the industry’s leading telecommunications vendors, has supplied optical infrastructure solutions to help power TRnet. "The innovative research enabled by TRnet is an important contribution to ensuring Canada remains competitive in the global economy and we are pleased TRLabs has selected our highly-reliable optical infrastructure solutions," said Rod Wilson, director, advanced technology research, CTO office. "Networks such as TRnet help to lay the foundation for next generation networks that will help enhance the end user experience and also increase competitive advantage for service providers."

"We're pleased to have contributed to the development of TRnet," said Murray Matiowsky, Manitoba Hydro Manager Communications. "As a research data network spanning all three prairie provinces, TRnet is a significant achievement. Congratulations to the TRLabs team for its foresight and perseverance in making TRnet a reality."

"At some point in the future, very high speed networks will become ubiquitous with the help of research tools such as TRnet," said TRLabs President and CEO Dr. Roger Pederson. "TRnet's unique window into a speed-enabled future of services and products that are much more dynamic, interactive, and 'human' in nature offers our industry members a distinct competitive innovation advantage."

About TRLabs
TRLabs creates innovative technologies and trains students to enhance ICT expertise and improve Canada’s global competitiveness. Labs in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg employ 230. With 51 partner members representing a unique synergy of industry, government, and university, research activities focus on seven strategic areas dedicated to building the network of the future: data networking, digital media, home technologies, network access, network systems, photonics, and wireless communications. In its 20-year existence, TRLabs has trained 840 highly skilled university graduates, created 310 technologies adopted for use by companies, and generated 161 patents issued or filed.

TRnet – Backgrounder

Research

The network of the future will be an aggregate of technologies that will converge to provide mobile, ad-hoc, pervasive services, and deliver high-bandwidth applications efficiently. The TRnet-related research program will focus on the networking technologies needed to realize this vision.

TRnet will support research in the following areas:

Self-Organizing Optical IP Networks: addresses self-organizing and distributed network configuration, restoration, traffic adaptation, self-planning, capacity over-subscription under restoration, p-cycles, time-transfer, and network synchronization.
Content-Aware IP Networking: focuses on development of content switching algorithms to provide differentiated services such as end-to-end QoS guarantees and preferential routing based on content classification schemes.
Enabling Optical Devices and Optical Network Performance: concentrates on characterizing optical devices such as optical wavelength generators, optical amplifiers, optical modulators and regenerators, and wavelength converters and wavelength selective devices operating at bit rates exceeding 10 Gb/s.
Digital Media Applications: augmented and virtual reality applications, multimedia collaboration over networks, tele-immersion.

How the network can be used:

-testing new releases and functionality over networks
-experimenting with next generation routers and network components like photonics or MEMs devices
-addition of data errors to observe impact on applications
-experimentation with network optimization/restoration techniques
-research on protocol integration between different network layers

TRnet...A Window to the Future:

TRnet is a very high speed network with very low latency (delay) that enables innovation of next generation technology, products and services.

At some point in the future, very high speed networks will become ubiquitous with the help of research tools such as TRnet. If the first generation of networking was simply to get us as society connected and plugged into the Internet era, the second generation will be to connect all of us at very high network speeds – which creates possibilities for services/products that are much more dynamic, interactive, and 'human' in nature in terms of use of key senses such as sight, sound, and even touch.

The possibilities in a future of real-time, interactive applications/services are endless. Some examples may include:

• Avatar /agent-based e-mail – next generation e-mail, where an avatar can provide an immediate response to an note rather than forcing the sender to wait for a response from the avatar's owner.
• Immersive virtual environments:
  • the "virtual" family or work location – a visual, real-time screen with family members/co-workers at home/office locations with interactive capabilities.
  • teleradiology and expert consultations – a specialist marks up and comments on diagnostic images to provide an expert or extra opinion to a family doctor thousands of miles away.
  • virtual worlds (e.g.. the body at a molecular level, a virtual museum available at home, an interactive navigable synthesis of all the pictures and data returned from the Mars rovers).
• Reality TV becomes Reality Networking offering a live, remote presence in situations by being able to interact with and control objects rather than just watching other people:
  • real-time network gaming with feedback systems.
  • interactive advertising – remote interaction with the physical world.
• Augmented virtual realities – where extra digital information or sensor feedback is added to what we see normally (e.g. automotive maintenance or repair guided by a virtual expert, having a simulated Iron Chef at your shoulder to help with that fussy gourmet dish, navigating through system diagnostics, tutoring by Mozart or Picasso...).
• Classroom experiments – (eg. the Space Station made accessible to grade school kids for experiments and education. Students can "steer the Hubble," adjust the camera and talk to astronauts).
• Global Philharmonic – where musicians no longer need to be in one place.

We’re likely to see the emergence of products/services enabled by very high network speeds in two phases:

-very high speed, low latency network services offered in major nodes such as universities, corporate locations, and consumer "hotspots."
-advances in core network/last mile technology such that TRnet-like services advance into the mass consumer marketplace.

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