Wales goes high-tech

A multi-million pound investment in telecommunications research was announced today at

by Andrew Davies, Minister for Economic Development and Transport.

The £30m Institute of Advanced Telecommunications (IAT) is a collaboration between the Welsh Assembly Government, Swansea University and a wide range of the world's leading multinational telecommunications companies, including Marconi, Sony, IBM, ALPS, BT and Agilent.

Construction giant Laing O'Rourke and Traffic Wales, the Welsh Assembly Government's traffic information service, are also key partners.

IAT will be based at Swansea University. The Institute will open up new research in areas including deep space telecommunications, optical systems and networks, wireless communications and telematics. IAT will also provide a range of MSc courses, determined by close liaison with industry, as well as meeting the needs of SMEs for innovative telecommunications applications and training.

It will have 40 full time academic staff, including six professors, with a further 200 staff and researchers expected within the next three years.