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ETTIN Initiation project


Objectives of the project


All travellers should have easy access to traffic and travel information everywhere in Europe. This project entails the first steps towards such a unique service number.
The main objectives of the project are:
  1. To set up, build, use and evaluate demonstrators in selected countries, including a common Interactive Voice Response structure in order to prove feasibility of the concept ETTIN, to learn from developing such a system and to gain experience in the cooperation of the involved organisations.
  2. To inform/discuss the concept with stakeholders involved in Europe in order to get them involved in the ETTIN organisation.
  3. To proceed towards the allocation of a paid European short telephone number.

Approach


1. Demonstrator
Demonstrator systems will be set up in four countries. The implementation of these demonstrators will be done under the responsibility of the Steering Group local partners in each of those countries. The systems will be built according to an architecture and specifications which are commonly designed in the project. A common evaluation will be done on those demonstrators.

The demonstrator systems will make use of existing voice response systems (providing traffic information and if possible public transport information). The implementation of the demonstrators therfore is mainly the implementation of the main menu structure in a voice-response system with the possibility to connect the call further to an existing voice-response system of a service provider.
User tests will be carried out by inviting a group of people per country to use the system during the operational period and to ask them to report about their findings.
The development and use of the demonstrator is divided in five work packages:
  1. ETTIN Management and Coordination
  2. Business Cases, Business Models and Organisation
  3. System Architecture and Technical Solutions
  4. The Demonstrators in Spain, France, The Netherlands and possibly in Switzerland.
  5. General Evaluation.
The project is further divided according to management tool Prince 2 in the following stage:
  • Initiation stage
  • Design stage
  • Implementation stage
  • Operational stage
  • Evaluation and Reporting stage
Each start and end of a phase requires the formal approval of the ETTIN Steering Group.
Every work package is active in (almost) all phases.

2. To inform/discuss with the stakeholders
The main stakeholders of ETTIN are the road operators (authorities and concessionaires) and the traffic and traveller information service providers. Other stakeholders are the public transport organisations, the telecom operators and the European Commission. A good organisational structure is needed to facilitate regular exchange of information between them. The main elements of the approach are:

  • To inform the stakeholders about the ETTIN concept and development at as many occasions as required.
  • To organise a workshop with the stakeholders in order to discuss ETTIN with them.
  • To create an Stakeholders Board which is open to all stakeholders that advises the ETTIN Steering Group on the strategy and the developments. This Stakeholder Board could meet once or twice a year, but the members will also be informed in between via e-mail and this website
3. To work towards an allocation of a European short telephone number
ETTIN has requested an 116xyz number from the European Commission – DG INFSO, but this was rejected due to the fact that it is not feasible to operate the ETTIN number commercially in a sound way without charges to the end-users.

The European Commission has stated that it will contact the CEPT to start discussions about the allocation of Europe-wide paid numbers. Within the ETTIN Initiation project also contact with the CEPT needs to be made. Each of the ETTIN members needs to contact also their national telecom operators and national bodies responsible for telecommunications in order to inform them as much as possible and to convince them about the need for a European telephone number.

Milestones and planning