Toshiba and Bristol's Telecommunications Research Laboratory, Bristol

Who they are

Toshiba are a vast multi-national, specialising in advanced electronics. They decided to base their European research centre in Bristol, at the Telecommunications Research Laboratory (TRL).

Situated in an area with a high concentration of international telecommunication, multimedia and computing companies and supported by Toshiba's strengths and expertise in computing and multimedia, TRL's work focuses on the scientific research required to make all kinds of mobile communication possible and affordable, 'always on' fast internet access.

What they do

The possibilities are endless, but first the systems behind mobile communication have to change. New digital signal processing, algorithms, architectures and protocols are needed.

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is the key to many of these future developments. UMTS is an evolution from second generation technologies and uses a new radio spectrum to offer data speeds of up to 2 Mbps, making portable videophones more readily available. UMTS, with its increased capacity and increased data capability, will allow network operators to offer real multi-media services.

Toshiba is a vast multi-national able to invest anywhere in the world. It is a tribute to the region's telecoms and academic communities and to team leader, Joe McGeehan's, spirit that they chose to base their European research centre in the South West.