THE KNOWLEDGE NEIGHBOURHOOD

The Dutch are experimenting with a so-called ‘Knowledge Neighbourhood'. In Eindhoven thousands of inhabitants are linked to the super fast – glass fibre – highway. Speed is not so important says one of the project managers: ‘it is what services you organise on the super broadband.'  The Knowledge Neighbourhood offers 70 different services.

The Eindhoven region was appointed in 2000 by the national authorities to become the test area for a digital consumers market of the future. The plan is to connect thousands of inhabitants to the world wide web via glass-fibre, so they can surf super fast on the internet, do their shopping electronically, work and study at home.

It is possible to watch television programs at any moment. The managing director of the project: ‘It is a new way of watching television. Imagine you come home late from the pub and you still want to see a program that is already broadcasted, no problem! You can watch a program on any moment of the day. In 3 seconds the program starts. And this is top DVD quality on a full screen. Also the project ‘film on demand' is active now. At an online videotheque you can order the film and watch it directly via the glass-fibre connection.

All the public meetings of the city council can be followed live. Most of the city hall information and data can be found online, but inhabitants can also have direct influence via a forum. Thrombosis patients check their own blood and send it to the doctor, the information on the dose send back to the patient. This means that these people can go on holidays because internet is everywhere.

Every neighbourhood has its own TV channel. Grandma can do her babysitting via the webcam. The WiFi system makes it possible to have a fast wireless internet connection while drinking a beer on a terrace. On schools pupils can make an inter active school newspaper and a special system makes it possible to send around video messages. The Knowledge neighbourhood has a special nerve centre in the Technical University of Eindhoven.

The introductory of the project was difficult and slow because of the collapse information- and computer technology market. Companies did not want to invest in glass-fibre networks and also the development of the special super broadband services was very slow.

Today the ‘Knowledge Neighbourhood' project is discussed in the Dutch Parliament. Most of the parties are optimistic about the future of the experiment. The housing associations that cooperate, do not mind the investment of millions because they see it as a serious extension of the services.

More and more ‘Knowledge Neighbourhood' services that are tested are now exported to other Dutch and international cities. The managing director hopes that the subsidies will not disappear, because the time for the digital harvest from the ‘Knowledge Neighbourhood' has come. How the internet will change our lives.

Eindhoven is the home town of the Dutch multinational Philips. The slogan of the city is: leading is technology'. Besides the ‘Knowledge Neighbourhood' the company is already experimenting for years with techniques for the house of the future. Inhabitants will become the technological centre of their homes. more features

Also read: 'The connected home'
Also read: 'Ambient Intelligence'

July 1, 2004