The provision of telecommunications links for the LEP collider

The relatively large physical size of the CERN LEP (Large Electron-Positron) collider complex has resulted in a radically different approach to the provision of the telecommunications links for LEP compared with earlier accelerators. In previous accelerators, telecommunications links in the widest sense (links for voice, data, TV images, special signals, etc.) have generally been provided by using one transmission medium, such as copper cable or optical fiber, for each link. In the LEP approach, many different signals, of widely different types and bandwidths, are multiplexed onto one high-bandwidth transmission medium. Microwave radio, copper cable, and optical cable are all used as transmission media in LEP. The system being installed for LEP is described, and the economic and other advantages which have resulted from the adoption of this approach are examined. Some future trends in telecommunications which have particular relevance for physically large installations such as the newer particle accelerators are examined