This article contains content that is written like an advertisement .(September 2013) |
Formation | 1921 |
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Type | Former government-owned body, now private research organisation |
Purpose | Telecommunications research |
Location |
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Parent organization | BT Group |
Website | https://www.bt.com/about/bt/research-and-development |
BT Research is the research arm of BT Group, formerly part of the British Post Office. The company was first established in 1921 as the Post Office Research Station at Dollis Hill, London. In 1968 BT moved of its research to the new site at Martlesham Heath based on part of the old Royal Air Force Station at Martlesham Heath near Ipswich in the English county of Suffolk, which was later renamed Adastral Park.
BT's main research facility is located in the United Kingdom at Adastral Park, near Ipswich in the county of Suffolk. The Adastral Park site was first planned around 1968 as the Martlesham Heath Post Office Laboratories [1] and after completion in 1971 it has grown to a facility which today has around 4,000 research and development people from both BT and some of its partner companies. Globally, BT has additional research labs in Beijing, Boston MA and Abu Dhabi. The focus of research at BT is Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
The Royal Air Force were the original residents of the site in Suffolk at RAF Martlesham Heath. Experimental aircraft test flights flew from the airfield and the name (Adastral Park) is intended to reflect the history of experimentation and innovation, which is the continuing focus for the Park.[ citation needed ] The initial models and plans created by the MPBW [successor to the MOW] would appear to indicate the influence of the Thunderbirds TV series of the 1960s.[ citation needed ]
Major theme areas are;
BT works closely with both academics and students in over 20 institutions globally and has strong partnerships with the University of Cambridge in the UK, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA and Tsinghua University in China. BT also leads the India-UK Advanced Technology Centre, a consortium of 22 Indian and UK industry and academic partners conducting research into current and next generation fixed and wireless communications.
Research in the company was first established in 1921 at the Post Office Research Station at Dollis Hill, London. In 1968 BT began the move of its research to the new site at Martlesham Heath in Suffolk. By late 1969 small teams of researchers were working at Martlesham. The first new research building was formally opened on 21 November 1975 by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The architect was Mr Stanislaw Spielrein ARIBA of the Ministry of Public Building and Works [MPBW]. [2] The new building housed 1,700 people.
By the turn of the twentieth century, the site had produced over 10,000 patents.
2006 [October] – BT implemented the world's first fully automated 'spam buster' system to track down and tackle professional spammers and 'botnet' infected customers on the BT broadband network.
2002 [June] – Research and development teams designed and deployed a suite of new business systems allowing the launch of the UK's first commercial broadband internet access service.
1999 [July] – BT announced that it had pushed commercial optical fibre transmission to 80 Gbit/s. BT labs demonstrated the world's fastest regenerator – a photonic digital network component.
1995 [June] – BT research designed and developed a video on demand service, which was trialled in the local area [Ipswich – Colchester], with 2,500 customers. It used asymmetric data on a subscriber's line (asymmetric digital subscriber line) over copper cables, with a decoder supplied by Apple. – article on trial
1987 [August] – the world's first instantaneous translation of speech by computer was unveiled by BT's research laboratories.
1982 [April] – Europe's first satellite transmission service was launched with Adastral Park's satellite dishes beaming television signals to the Orbital Test Satellite, run by Eutelsat, allowing Finnish and Norwegian viewers to receive the (English language) signals.
1979 [September] – GPO launched Prestel, the world's first viewdata network.
BT Group plc is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, broadband and mobile services in the UK, and also provides subscription television and IT services.
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Martlesham is a village in Suffolk, England about two miles (3 km) south-west of Woodbridge and 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Ipswich. It is often referred to as "old Martlesham" by locals in order to distinguish this old village from the much more recent Martlesham Heath development (1 km) to the south, although both form a single administrative parish. Also at Martlesham Heath is BT's Research and Development Centre, now called Adastral Park.
Martlesham Heath is a village in Suffolk, England. It is 6 miles (10 km) east of Ipswich, This was an ancient area of heathland and latterly the site of Martlesham Heath Airfield. A "new village" was established there in the mid-1970s and this has developed into a modern community, based on a traditional village pattern. The population is still included in that of Martlesham. The village is also part of the wider Ipswich Built-up area.
The Post Office Research Station was first established as a separate section of the General Post Office in 1909.
Adastral Park is a science campus based on part of the old Royal Air Force Station at Martlesham Heath, near Ipswich in the English county of Suffolk.
Royal Air Force Martlesham Heath or more simply RAF Martlesham Heath is a former Royal Air Force station located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. It was active between 1917 and 1963, and played an important role in the development of airborne radar.
The Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) was a research facility for British military aviation from 1918 to 1992. Established at Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, the unit moved in 1939 to Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, where its work continues following privatisation as part of the Qinetiq company.
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