Abstract:

The European Commission asked the European Consultancy Organisation (ETCO) in 1986 to evaluate future demand for broadband telecommunications in order to be able to provide the requisite types of carrier services and infrastructures. The two essential aims of the survey were : 1. to evaluate future broadband transmission flows. Broadband networks are suitable notably for high volume data transmission and for high definition black and white or colour TV broadcast (HDTV); 2. to set up a data bank and a sampling base for re-consultation at more or less regular intervals. A second series of interviews, confined to four countries, took place in 1988.