Telecoms Standards Initiative Company guidelines for applications

Telecoms Standards Initiative – Company Guidelines

Background

Telecoms Standards funding has now been incorporated as part of the Enterprise Ireland funding structure following on the positive outcome of two pilot schemes run by the organisation in this area. Support will be provided for standards development work in the Internet, Telecommunications and Mobile areas.

Legal Basis: Funding will be provided by way of a Feasibility Study Grant under Section 29 of the 1986 Industrial Development Act. Proposals will be evaluated and presented to the Enterprise Ireland R&D Fund Committee.

Eligible Companies

The fund is open to all clients and potential clients of Enterprise Ireland. However, clients who have received Innovative HPSU funding should check with their development adviser whether they are currently eligible for funding under the initiative.

Aim of the Initiative

The initiative is aimed at encouraging companies to take an active or driving role in standards development and to use this as a basis for achieving technology leadership or competitive advantage in the industry.Support will be provided to companies in the Internet, Telecommunications and Mobile Sectors to facilitate their participation in standards activities.Telecommunications is considered to include wireless for the purpose of this initiative.

Examples of the benefits to companies from driving standards are:

  • Define direction for the standard
  • Technical insight into the technology
  • Align engineering / product roadmap with potential standards evolution
  • Build in-house knowledge on how best to implement standard in a speedy manner (know the trade-offs, issues of standards decisions)
  • Promote own technology and technical approach to potential early adopters within the standards community
  • Find potential alliances/partners for own approach/ product within standards community
  • Enhance company's credibility and profile through association with having "written the standard", chairing Working Groups, being on Exec council

Standards/Specifications – Clarification

A specification, in the standards context, is a document which specifies best practice regarding the design or performance of a product, process or service. A (formal) standard is a specification that has obtained the consensus of all interested parties and has been introduced by a national or international standardization body such as the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) or the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

Formal National/International Standards typically go through a lengthy public enquiry and national approval stage before being ratified. This process may be satisfactory for conventional industries, however, due to the short lifetimes of telecoms products, and the rapid progress of telecoms technology, the telecoms industry is increasingly using agreed industry specifications as a means to achieve timely standardisation.

These industry specifications are typically referred to as “industry standards” and they require extensive formulation, technical examination and discussion between interested parties before they are formally agreed by the industry group. They provide a basis for guaranteeing a minimum working performance and also support interworking and integration in a multi-vendor environment. Industry leaders contribute substantial time to developing and influencing such standards.

Examples of groups who develop international industry standards are:

  • The GSM Association
  • The IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force)

The IETF uses a less formal and more interactive development process which results in faster results than the conventional bodies would achieve.

Another, more formal industry group for the development of international industry standards is the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers).

In the context of this funding support, both formal national/international standards development and international industry standards and/or specifications development are included.

Eligible Expenditure

In the case of successful applicants, only expenditure incurred from the date the applicationis submitted will be eligible for consideration. Expenditure incurred before this date is ineligible.

Grants are aimed at supporting standards development. Grant funds may be used for expenditure exclusive and essential to the approved project in the categories shown below:

Costs / Max Eligible / Comment
Salaries/Wages* / €80,000 p.a. / Salary costs, verifiable by timesheets, for personnel employed on the project are eligible.
The annual salary figure eligible is normally limited to a maximum of €80,000 (exclusive of employer’s PRSI contribution)
Note:- that pensions, bonuses or benefit in kind are not eligible as salary costs;
-that the costs of administration, finance and marketing are covered under the 30% overhead allowed. The overhead is calculated automatically and added to the salary costs in the Summary Table.
-The number of days for which salaries are claimed must be specified in the application form together with the rate of pay for each individual.
Overheads and Sundry Expenses / 30% of actual wage/salary costs / The costs of administration, finance and marketing are covered under the 30% overhead allowed. The overhead is calculated automatically and added to the salary costs in the Summary Table.
The company's normal overhead provision, up to 30% of actual wages/salary costs, is the appropriate allowance for businesses where wages/salaries are paid. For Individuals and Groups where wages/salaries are not paid, the actual cost of overhead/sundry expense items (phone, postage, rental, stationary, etc.) is claimable.
Travel & Subsistence / See comment / Daily Allowances
Ireland
Economy Air/Rail Fares
Mileage 60 Cents/Km
Economy Car Hire
Subsistence*, 24 hr period €150 per Day
Subsistence*, Day rate, €60
Overseas
Economy Air/Rail Fares
Mileage 60 Cents/Km
Economy Car Hire
Subsistence*, 24 hr period, €200 per Day
Subsistence*, Day rate, €60
*For all out of pocket expenses including, hotels, meals, taxis, local fares, incidentals etc.
Note
Subsistence can only apply where a person is absent on business at a location more than 8 kilometres (overnights 80km) from their work base.
Membership Fees of Standards Bodies / N/A
Other agreed Third Party costs / €900 per day / Example of eligible costs under this category: Engineer who has been doing substantial contract work for the company on a long term and continuous basis.
Hosting meetings and workshops / N/A

Note:

  • that claimed expenditure should be net of VAT where VAT cost is recoverable by the promoter i.e. if the promoteris registered for VAT at the time the expenditure was made. In all other cases the claimed expenditure may include the VAT element;
  • expenditure undertaken to commercialise the results of standards development work, for example the cost of marketing development, is not eligible under this initiative.

Only expenditure directly related to an approved project is eligible. Expenditure undertaken to commercialise the results of the standards development work is not eligible. For example, the costs of market development are ineligible for assistance.

Telecoms Standards Development – Examples of Activities

  • Attend and participate in standards meeting.
  • Establish relationships with key players in working group (committee) of standards body.
  • Study, understand and influence proposals from other participants for inclusion in the standard.
  • Build up credibility through contributing to the discussions in the working group and contributing own proposals for inclusion in the standard.
  • Debate with other participants the value of the different approaches. Need to be able to stand up for own proposal against pressure from other participants.
  • Negotiate compromise solutions for inclusion in standard
  • Back in the office :
  • Study the proposals from the meeting
  • Draft own solution to solve problem
  • Compare proposed solutions with own product roadmap and own solution
  • Try out some of the proposed solutions to see if they work
  • Discuss options with colleagues from own company
  • Disseminate information gained to R&D team to ensure that the R&D plan takes account of the standard and the company will develop product that is compliant with the standard.
  • Continue communications with working group colleagues in the search for a suitable agreed solution. In the case of the part of the standard that is of strongest relevance to the company, continue to try to persuade colleagues of the benefits of an approach that favours the company’s own roadmap.
  • Act as chairperson of standards committee – blending diverse ideas together or helping committee reach a decision. This will likely involve liaising with other standards groups.
  • Act as author or co-author or editor of standard.
  • Generate innovative ideas within a standards forum to stimulate the creation and adoption of new standards.
  • Participate in relevant standardisation events.

It is not claimed that the above list is exhaustive.

Levels of Support Available

The maximum grant rate available is 50% for all companies, irrespective of size and location.

The maximum funding support per application is €100,000.

Call Close Dates

Application Forms and Company Guidelines are available from the Enterprise Ireland Website at

Applications for funding will be considered on a monthly call basis. Completed applications must be submitted along with the Company’s Audited and Management Accounts to :

no later than 5.30pm on the call close date, the last working date of the month that the application is submitted. Please note, only eligible expenditure incurred from the Call Close date for which the Application is submitted will be considered for funding by the approval Committee.

If you don’t have soft copies of the company’s audited and management accounts, please send hard copies of the accounts to:

The CSU Unit

EnterpriseIreland

The Plaza

East PointBusinessPark

Dublin 3.

Assessment of Applications

All applications will be subject to a Technical and Commercial Assessment.

Assessment criteria will include the following:

  • Potential to achieve leadership in the standard
  • Potential to achieve growth in sales and exports through standards participation
  • Market potential of the standard and the relevant timescale
  • Relevance to Irish telecoms community
  • Need for funding
  • Standards track record

Your Technical Assessor and/or Development Adviser will advise you on any additional information required to complete the commercial and technical assessments.

The turnaround time from the Call Close Date to Committee Approval is 8-9 weeks. Within that period a defined set of action items have to be completed. In order to adhere to defined deadlines, the company is asked to facilitate the Technical and Commercial assessor both in terms of having early meetings (if meetings are required) and in providing all necessary information as requested. We thank you for your support in this matter.

Post Approval

After the R&D Fund Committee has considered proposals the following actions take place:

All applicants will be informed of the outcome of the Committee’s decisionsby the Technical Assessor. In the case of successful applicants a formal Letter of Offer is issued. This Letter of Offer, when accepted, forms a legal agreement between EnterpriseIreland and the company. Your attention is drawn to the following:

  • Companies when they accept the Letter of Offer must return the acceptance within one month from the date of the Letter of Offer.
  • Final grant claims must be submitted by the final claim date in the Letter of Offer.

Dissemination

Successful applicants will be required to disseminate standards information among other Irish companies. As a minimum this will include:

  • Deliver presentation at one seminar
  • Upload information to web (e.g. latest position of standard)
  • Provide a reasonable level of advice to other companies

Note: It is recognised that companies will be bound to confidentiality on certain issues within the standards body.

Claim Process

Refer to EnterpriseIreland website for claims process:

Monitoring

Projects will be monitored over the duration of the programme in order to assist the company in achieving their aims and to verify compliance with the conditions of the grant. In the event of a deviation from the approved plan you should consult with your Development Adviser.

Guidelines to making an application

Before preparing an application, you should inform your Development Adviser. For detailed questions you should contact the Programme Manager:

Pádraig Timmons, Tel: 01-7272212.

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