With the convergence of comms and computing, how do you see BTs role in the future information superhighway?
BT is in the information business. Telecommunications is about transporting and delivering information in all its varied forms. As the technology progresses, then BT has to adapt and change its operations and business to accommodate new forms and formats. BT has been one of the principal contributors to the development of optical fibre transmission systems and currently operates a network of 3MKm in the UK. Optical transparency with photonic amplifiers removing all the electronic bottlenecks in the end-to-end path is the crucial technological step to realising the ultimate superhighway. BT has tried and tested this technology and is currently a major global player in its development and deployment. The step of actively constructing a national highway is therefore not a technical problem or decision – it is entirely down to politics! BT is also a leading player in VoD development and for many people this may be the start of the information revolution. A wideband pipe delivering entertai
