561 



Apart from that prerequisite, there are still many obstacles, whether 

 at technical level, in view of the large number of data to be 

 transmitted and the difficulties associated with the interconnection 

 of comnuni cations networks, at economic level, in view of the rates 

 charged by the companies responsible for transmission, or even at 

 political level, in view of the fact that it is high technologies that 

 are involved here and certain information may be covered by military 

 or industrial secrecy. 



3.1.1) Technical obstacles 



Intensive use of information technologies for the transmission and 

 processing of scientific and technical data has been an important 

 step in the rise of scientific research and, in sectors such as 

 High Energy Physics or Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion, these 

 technologies are an indispensable instrument without which progress 

 would be impossible. 



in the case of High Energy Physics, telecommunications networks 

 making use of private or public cables at present offer only limited 

 possibilities with regard to transmission speeds (9 600 bits/sec) 

 and there are very few intercontinental lines. In the near future 

 (1 1/2 years), it seems that six to eight lines between Europe and 

 the USA and one line between Japan and the USA, all restricted to 

 9 600 bits/sec, would be necessary in order to meet the physicists' 

 requirements. 



In two or three years, it will doubtless be necessary to set up two 

 lines capable of transmitting at the rate of 56 kbits/sec lines and 

 to add eight to ten lines between Europe and the USA and one line 

 between Japan and the USA (all capable of transmitting 9 600 

 bits/sec). Subsequently, most of the 9 600 bits/sec lines would 

 have to be converted to 56 kbits/sec. For the time being, there 

 seems to be no urgent need to set up 1 Mbits/sec links; nonetheless, 

 in view of the forecasts made by the High Energy Physics 

 laboratories for the end of the decade, it can be estimated that the 

 largest countries might need one hour per day at 2 Mbits/sec via 

 satellite. 



Two-way communications across the North Atlantic and the North 

 Pacific could also turn out to be necessary. 



The technical obstacle does not arise so much from the available 

 capacity or number of lines, since technical knowledge and 

 resources are such that industry should be able to cope with the 

 requirements sketched out above, as from the compatibility and 

 interconnection of existing networks; the most difficult problem to 

 overcome is probably the absence of a complete set of international 

 standards in this field, both with regard to the interface of means 

 of telecommunication and to the software used. In particular, the 

 network access protocols would have to be standardized or at least 

 harmonized. 



