D.5 - Image Communications Projects in ACTS

Abstract

This chapter focuses on image communications in the field of Advanced Communication Technology and Services (ACTS). The ACTS program is considered as the third phase of the implementation of the IBC (Integrated Broadband Communications). The image communication is dominant in the first area, but is also present in the remaining areas because it is very difficult to imagine a high speed network or an advanced mobile system not open to the video signals. In the same way a complex interactive digital multimedia service cannot operate in an unsafe or an unsecured system, without the appropriate quality, with a good identification and an accurate description of the service components in close cooperation with equally complex network functions. The provision of multimedia services over advanced communication networks involves the development and integration of a number of key technologies. The projects addressing these technologies cover several service elements and background knowledge, such as: multimedia content manipulation and management; presentation, interaction, and storage; and transmission media. Advanced telecommunications will continue to remain of importance owing both to the direct impact they have as a major industry in themselves, and more importantly, to the services they can offer to the business community and to the individual.