Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin has announced the establishment of a new €2.45 million research programme for the development of television, music and other services for Irish mobile phones.

The research programme, supported by Enterprise Ireland, brings together 23 leading telecommunications companies working side by side with researchers from third level institutions, led by the Telecommunications Software and Systems Group at Waterford IT.

Minister Martin said: “Irish consumers and business have embraced the opportunities and benefits of mobile phone technology, now we must look to the future. What is exciting about this research is that it will focus on the new emerging IMS (Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem) technology.”

“This technology will present us with new opportunities for all mobile devices. Not only will it further transform how we view television, the internet and emails but it will also present opportunities to enhance our enterprise economy.”

“This work has a timeframe of 30 months. It will assess what future services are required in the Irish market as well as examining the development and delivery of such services.”

“Enterprise Ireland is keenly aware of the opportunities presented by the new technology and is working with both the private sector and our third level institutions to ensure we can deliver the mobile services that consumers and business will use on a daily basis.”

“The aim of the research is to develop ‘when you want, where you want it’ type services. IMS technology is being developed internationally and will transform the way we use mobile phones. It is important that we are ready for this next generation.”

Minister Martin also congratulated the Telecommunications, Software & Systems Group at Waterford IT which has a lead role in this project. Established in 1997 the group now has 120 fulltime employees and PhD students.

(JM)