The Communication Infrastructure for the LHC

The communications infrastructure which was put into place for the LEP collider is now well over 10 years old, and will, in some cases, soon need replacement. Moreover, the communications needs for the LHC collider, experiments, and associated services are different from those of LEP. The time is now ripe to examine these requirements, and evaluate the possible ways in which they can be met. A Communications Infrastructure Working Group was put into place to identify the needs for communications services during the construction, commissioning, and initial operation of the LHC. The services to be considered include transmission of voice, video, and data. This paper will report on the progress of this group, and will also outline some technical options for the communications infrastructure.