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EUREKA
News, December 2003 |
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New cluster Celtic fills the telecoms gap Telecommunications is battling both a business downturn and a pace of development which could exceed investment capacity, prompting the initiation of a new strategic initiative. Co-operation for Sustained European Leadership in Telecommunications (Celtic) was endorsed by EUREKA members at the Poitiers meeting in October. Eighteen countries are currently interested in participating. “There are a number of existing telecoms R&D programmes in Europe, but these tend to focus on the medium- to long-term,” explains Celtic’s Jacques Magen. “Meanwhile, the current difficult business climate means that R&D efforts within major companies are reduced to looking solely at the next six to 12 months. Celtic will allow us to fill the gap and look at techniques, systems and services for two years’ hence.” If Celtic can enable Europe to rise to the tremendous technological and commercial challenges of the new digital age – the convergence of telephones, televisions and home computers and the development of business models and services that work equally well for companies and their customers – the associated economic benefits will come to Europe.
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