The autonomous government of Catalonia, Spain intends to set up four Integrated Advanced Telecommunications Centres, CITA, in the region by the end of the year. Pilot sites will be established in Tremp, Ripoll, Amposta and Manresa, and will be adapted to suit the business and industrial needs of the area. They will provide computing and multimedia services as well as professional training for civil servants, companies, and members of the public interested in information technology. Each will act as a server centre, and will be equipped with X25 lines. Activities will be divided into four areas: basic computing under Unix; graphic computing, including geographic information systems; multimedia and communications. Companies will also be able to set up their own laboratories, study centres and electronic computer centres at the sites. The CITA have been modelled on similar centres in Northern Europe and France, and on the Offices of Integrated Telecommunications Services, developed as part of the European Commission’s STAR optical fibre project to upgrade telecommunications in what it calls the Less Favoured Regions of Europe. Some $185,000 has been invested in the centres so far excluding applications and viewdata. Barcelona-based software and services house Centro de Tratamiento de Informacion SA, Centrisa, acted as consultant to the project, and initial performance results will be available by the end of 1993.
