»Always on.« Although consumers take for granted the idea of ubiquitous, around-the-clock access to data from any device, providing such services can be a challenge. Network quality, data privacy, data security and system interoperability are all issues that companies must face nowadays.

We expect access to our data from anywhere and at the highest speed possible. To satisfy this demand, the German government wants 75 percent of the country's households to have high-speed (> 50 Mbit/S) broadband access by 2014. The challenge in building a nationwide broadband network lies in establishing high-quality IP connectivity across different physical network segments and components. Over the next few years, the industry will be called upon to deal effectively with the issues of high network availability and reliability, interoperability, third-party data protection and adequate »always on« bandwidth with minimal latency.

Research Groups

Research spheres

These challenges are the focus of the Telecommunication business unit, which comprises two research groups. Communication Solutions primarily offers product and technology services evaluations. The Access & In-house Networks research group uses its expertise in wired transmission technologies to offer R&D services focused on the development of high-speed wired technologies for the access segment and for in-house building networks.

The Telecommunication business unit carries out applied research in the area of networked systems. The activities are concentrated on communication networks and technologies and system and application concepts as well as software design and engineering approaches used in the development of communication systems.

A relatively new area of research is satellite transmission. Complete broadband coverage requires enhancing the access segment with hybrid solutions that include additional transmission technologies, even wireless-based. With this in mind, Fraunhofer ESK began to build-up its expertise in the field of satellite communication in 2010.

Fraunhofer ESK relies on its research findings and the accumulated know-how to help companies carry out product evaluations, technology studies and planning for the integration of mobile devices into telecommunication infrastructures.

Research Focus

The Telecommunication business unit will continue its R&D activities in the area of vectored DSL technologies in 2012. Powerline communication is another important area that involves the modeling of PLC channels, creating models for detecting and resolving interference issues and developing reference boards. With an eye on improving energy efficiency, this business unit will also look into intelligent and load-dependent processes which can be used for implementing digital power management.

Another area of research involves interoperability between various in-house networking technologies. A good example is the HomeGrid Forum, which is promoting a unified twisted-pair phone line, coaxial and powerline standard, particularly for residential buildings.