User:Indiangrove/EuroNet (telecommunications network)

EurOnet (sometimes Euronet or EuroNet) was a European data transmission network designed to provide access to databases and databanks in the European Economic Community (EEC), now European Union (EU).

EurOnet was a vital element in another project called Direct Information Access Network for Europe, (DIANE).

The basic layout of the network was the location of Packet Switching Exchanges (PSE's) in Frankfurt, London, Paris and Rome, and remote concentrators in Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin and Luxembourg. This configuration gave each member state a national access point.

Background

Prior to the establishment of Euronet, access to scientific and technical information (STI) within Europe was limited and, to a large extent, depended on US services and networks. This led to the development of the First Action Plan for scientific and technical information approved by the Council of Ministers in March, 1975. In December 1975, agreement was reached by which the national telecommunication organizations (known as PTT's or Postal, Telegraph and Telephone service) would provide telecommunication facilities in each member state. The PTTs would have the option of merging the facilities into a public network over time.

Technical Issues

In 1976, a contract was signed between the PTTs and the Sesa/Logica consortium to provide a packet-switched data communications network, based on the French Transpac network. The initial network configuration provided for Packet Switching Exchanges, or nodes, located in Frankfurt, London, Paris and Rome and remote concentrators (multiplexers) located in Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin and Luxembourg. This design provided every member state with a national access point and, by interconnecting the nodes, redundancy and reliability would be achieved.

In order to ensure harmony within Europe as well as developments taking place elsewhere, the PTTs adopted the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) CCITT (Comité consultatif international téléphonique et télégraphique), now ITU-T, X.25 protocol. This allowed high speed devices to transmit packets to each other. In order to facilitate slow speed devices, or character mode terminals, CCITT standards X.3, X.28 and X.29 were developed and adopted.