Telecom Applications Research Alliance

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The Telecom Applications Research Alliance (TARA) aims toestablish a world class telecommunication R&D facility from itsbase in Nova Scotia, Canada. TARA is a joint initiative ofglobal telecoms manufacturer Northern Telecom (Nortel), localtelco Maritime Tel & Tel (MT&T), and the prestigious Technical
University of Nova Scotia (TUNS). The TARA initiative hasachieved a world "first" in making a live DMS-100 switchavailable to private telecom application development companies inthe local, national, and international market place. As membersof TARA, companies can take advantage of the many advancedfeatures of TARA's DMS-100 switch to test and refine advancedtelecom applications on a "live" private switching network.

Typical applications that may be tested at the TARA facilityinclude Internet applications and enhanced business serviceswhich exploit such features as simultaneous voice and data callhandling on a single line, and voice recognition. Testing may beconducted alone, with other companies, or in collaboration withuniversity researchers.

TARA's planned operating budget of $15 million over the firstfive years is derived principally from the private sector in theform of cash, in-kind contributions, and royalties from fundedprojects. Federal and Provincial Governments have committed $4.1
over the same period under the Canada/Nova Scotia COOPERATION
Agreement on Technology Development. In addition, Nortel isdonating the DMS-100 switch, valued at $2.5 million, while MT&T
is contributing matching value in terms of office space,
technical support, and pilot test bandwidth.

TARA went "on-line" in August 1995, when Brian Penney assumed theposition of president. Prior to this appointment, Dr Penney wasdirector of the Ottawa Carleton Research Institute (OCRI)
Broadband Network Infrastructure Program and was instrumental insetting up the Canadian Network for the Advancement of Research,
Industry and Education (CANARIE). TARA's structureis broadlysimilar to that of CANARIE, and the initial narrowband programparallels OCRI's Infrastructure Program.

TARA is adopting a phased approach to the support of telecomapplication development. In the first phase, the focus will be onnarrowband technologies which transfer up to 1.5 megabits of dataper second. Typical examples are electronic commerce, distanceeducation, Internet-based consumer transactions, and applicationsfor the World Wide Web. In the next phase, TARA will expand intowireless communication including cellular, indoor local areanetworks, and personal communication systems. And in a laterphase, very high speed broadband applications will be supported.

TARA is dedicated to the creation of high quality employmentopportunities in telecom and information technology. Byinvesting a planned $3.5 million in joint ventures, universityresearch projects, and student scholarships, TARA aims to supportmore than 50 person years of R&D employment. In addition, these
TARA-related projects are likely to spin off an equivalent numberof related positions in member organizations. Furthermore,
TARA's original investment will generate additional employmentin manufacturing, sales and marketing, and administrativesupport.

TARA's applications development facility, known as TARAnet,
centres round the DMS-100 switching system in Halifax. Memberorganizations and project participants may use TARAnet on TARA
premises, or remotely either through MT&T's fibre optic networkin Nova Scotia, or through CANARIE in the rest of Canada.
Additional points of presence are being established on majorusers' premises. Other members may connect to the network fromthese locations.

TARA will move toward financial self-sufficiency through incomefrom its endeavors. Principal sources will be the graduatedmembership fees consisting of a mixture of cash and in-kindcontributions, and the return on investment in joint projects.
These projects will be governed by jointly negotiated businessagreements between TARA and member companies, and will include areturn to TARA in the form of royalties from commercializedproducts or equity in joint ventures. Fees from non-memberswishing to take advantage of TARA's unique facilities willprovide a secondary revenue stream.

For further information on TARA, contact Brian Penney, President.

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