RACE: Results of call

The latest call for proposals in the RACE programme (the specific research and technological development programme in the field of communications technologies, 1990-1994) closed on 3 September 1993. The call (published in Official Journal No C 149 of 29.6.1993) covered extensi...

The latest call for proposals in the RACE programme (the specific research and technological development programme in the field of communications technologies, 1990-1994) closed on 3 September 1993. The call (published in Official Journal No C 149 of 29.6.1993) covered extensions to existing projects and opportunities for completely new activities in certain areas of communications research, with a target budget of ECU 73 million.

A total of 200 proposals were received, consisting of 77 proposed extensions to existing projects (out of the 91 currently active) plus 123 new proposals. Participants in the proposed work totalled 975 separate organizations from 22 countries in the EEC, EFTA and elsewhere. Proposers included major service providers, equipment manufacturers and telecommunications service users spread over a wide range of business and industrial sectors, giving a broadly representative coverage of the community at which the RACE programme is aimed.

The proposals were examined by an independent evaluation team of 89 experts, brought in by the Commission specifically for this task from both the business and academic worlds. The team recommended that 78 of the proposals should be retained and subjected to further examination and exploratory discussion with the proposers.

At present, the breakdown by programme area of the projects undergoing the final stage of selection is as follows:

- Integrated broadband communications: 13 extensions, 3 new proposals;
- Intelligent networks: 8 extensions, 3 new;
- Mobile communications: 3 extensions, 7 new;
- Image and data communications: 7 extensions, 6 new;
- Information security: 1 extension, 1 new;
- Advanced communications experiments: 6 extensions, 5 new;
- Test infrastructures: 3 extensions, 8 new;
- Accompanying measures: 4 extensions, no new projects.

The technical and financial vetting of these proposals is near completion and a definitive list of project titles and objectives will be available shortly. It is foreseen that work on the new projects will begin on 1 January 1994 and will continue to December 1995. The extensions to existing projects will be carried out over the same period.