Telecom Applications Research Alliance

TARA

The Telecom Applications Research Alliance (TARA) aims to
establish a world class telecommunication R&D facility from its
base in Nova Scotia, Canada. TARA is a joint initiative of
global telecoms manufacturer Northern Telecom (Nortel), local
telco Maritime Tel & Tel (MT&T), and the prestigious Technical
University of Nova Scotia (TUNS). The TARA initiative has
achieved a world 'first' in making a live DMS-100 switch
available to private telecom application development companies in
the local, national, and international market place. As members
of TARA, companies can take advantage of the many advanced
features of TARA's DMS-100 switch to test and refine advanced
telecom applications on a 'live' private switching network.

Typical applications that may be tested at the TARA facility
include Internet applications and enhanced business services
which exploit such features as simultaneous voice and data call
handling on a single line, and voice recognition. Testing may be
conducted alone, with other companies, or in collaboration with
university researchers.

TARA's planned operating budget of $15 million over the first
five years is derived principally from the private sector in the
form of cash, in-kind contributions, and royalties from funded
projects. 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 is
donating 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 the
position of president. Prior to this appointment, Dr Penney was
director of the Ottawa Carleton Research Institute (OCRI)
Broadband Network Infrastructure Program and was instrumental in
setting up the Canadian Network for the Advancement of Research,
Industry and Education (CANARIE). TARA's structureis broadly
similar to that of CANARIE, and the initial narrowband program
parallels OCRI's Infrastructure Program.

TARA is adopting a phased approach to the support of telecom
application development. In the first phase, the focus will be on
narrowband technologies which transfer up to 1.5 megabits of data
per second. Typical examples are electronic commerce, distance
education, Internet-based consumer transactions, and applications
for the World Wide Web. In the next phase, TARA will expand into
wireless communication including cellular, indoor local area
networks, and personal communication systems. And in a later
phase, very high speed broadband applications will be supported.

TARA is dedicated to the creation of high quality employment
opportunities in telecom and information technology. By
investing a planned $3.5 million in joint ventures, university
research projects, and student scholarships, TARA aims to support
more than 50 person years of R&D employment. In addition, these
TARA-related projects are likely to spin off an equivalent number
of related positions in member organizations. Furthermore,
TARA's original investment will generate additional employment
in manufacturing, sales and marketing, and administrative
support.

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

TARA will move toward financial self-sufficiency through income
from its endeavors. Principal sources will be the graduated
membership fees consisting of a mixture of cash and in-kind
contributions, and the return on investment in joint projects.
These projects will be governed by jointly negotiated business
agreements between TARA and member companies, and will include a
return to TARA in the form of royalties from commercialized
products or equity in joint ventures. Fees from non-members
wishing to take advantage of TARA's unique facilities will
provide a secondary revenue stream.

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

Company Details

Year Established: 1994

Number of Employees: 6

Company Information

Heather Jupp
Title: Administrator
Area of Responsibility: Administrative Services
Telephone: (902) 421-6000
Fax: (902) 421-6030
Email: Click Here

Products

Dms-100 Switch

Services