Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/F030118/1
Title:	EPSRC NETWORK in Next Generation Networks Systems and Services- Enablers for the Digital Economy
Principal Investigator:	Parr, Professor G
Other Investigators:	Scotney, Professor B
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	BT Causeway Data Communications Ltd Indian Inst of Technology (IIT) Bombay Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi) Indian Institute of Technology Madras InfoSys Technologies Ltd Lancaster University Queen Mary University of London Sasken Communication Technologies Ltd Tejas Networks Ltd UCL University of Birmingham University of Bristol University of Cambridge University of Southampton University of St Andrews University of Surrey Wipro Technologies
Department:	Sch of Computing & Information Eng
Organisation:	University of Ulster
Scheme:	Network
Starts:	01 February 2008	Ends:	30 June 2010	Value (£):	118,919
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Networks & Distributed Systems Software Engineering
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Information Technologies
Related Grants:
Panel History:	Panel Date Panel Name Outcome 25 Sep 2007 INTERACT 5 Panel (Eng) Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
Investment in innovation and research in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is essential in order to foster social and economic inclusion, better public services, and improvements in the quality of life for citizens. The key purpose of our Network is to strengthen such investment in the area of Next Generation Telecommunications Networks in support of the Digital Economy. Such aspirations are pivotal for social inclusion and economic prosperity in both the UK and India. Within the UK, the situation is improving, but according to Ofcom's recent report on the Nations and Regions 2007, more work needs to be done to ensure that the benefits of the Digital Economy are accessible and affordable to all of its citizens. With a growing middle class that now numbers nearly 400 million people, India's electronics equipment consumption, estimated at $28.2 billion in 2005, is expected to reach $363 billion by 2015. Domestic production totalled $10.99 billion in 2005 and is projected at $155 billion in 2015, according to ISA estimates, thanks to such drivers as mobile phones, wireless equipment, set-tops and smart-card terminals. These developments, and the priorities of government to raise educational and business standards and address social and economic deprivation, are driving the pressure on the enabling communications and service providers to come up with cost-effective solutions that can be rolled out at scale in support of the digital economy in both countries.Within our proposed Network, we will address a number of themes that will contribute to the development and deployment of Next Generation Converged Networks. These themes build on the strengths of our Network Members and also provide the greatest opportunities for the consideration of Technology Demonstrators that will underpin the development of government policies and initiatives for both Rural and Urban Digital Economy programmes in both UK and India.For the past two years, under the invitation of EPSRC and the British High Commission in Delhi, Professor Parr has established a UK-India Advisory Group (see Letters of Support from British High Commission Personnel in India). This group has been formulating a development plan between the two nations, involving an agenda of activities within the context of Next Generation Networking; the purpose is to encourage the development of real and meaningful collaborations that will be internationally leading and economically relevant to both the UK and India. Overall, the intention is the establishment of a joint Indo-UK Virtual Centre of Excellence that will address the domain of Next Generation Networking for the benefit of both nations. The provision of core funding through this EPSRC INTERACT Programme is critical to the creation of our Network and to enable our plans to go forward on a sure footing for the future.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Organisation Website:	http://www.ulst.ac.uk