[ Nortel/AMTX and WSTL/ALA.... WHAT?? ]
AMTX doesn't think ADSL will be a 1997 thing??
Prelude to a merger
As BT/MCI alliance shores up, BT exhibits new technology applications
BETH SNYDER, Switching & Transmission Editor
Every three years, BT's research and development labs in Martlesham, England, give customers a peek into a crystal ball with futuristic displays of technological possibilities. In light of the pending merger with MCI, Innovation '97 also afforded Americans a chance to see what might be coming to U.S. shores.
With applications such as 3-D shopping, iris scanning for security, satellite systems to guide blind people and even virtual reality business meetings, the nine-day event showed off the best and most creative ideas from BT research and development engineers.
But it's not just a dog-and-pony show to keep customers and investors happy. Some 80% of the displays are deliverable, said Stewart Davies, BT Labs' general manager of systems engineering operations.
"Part of our job is to determine where the future may be," he said.
And that future includes MCI. Ideas and applications already flow between the two companies and will continue, said Fred Briggs, chief engineer of MCI and chief technology officer designate of BT/MCI's joint venture, Concert.
For instance, intelligent networking is being developed in England and digital subscriber line (DSL) research is being done in the U.S., while both companies use the resulting technologies. That's the crux of how the merger is already saving millions of dollars, and even more savings are projected for the future, Briggs said.
One of the areas in which BT has led MCI is DSL. Because BT is a local phone company, it owns 27 million local loop lines in England, whereas MCI is still negotiating in the U.S. for rights to use the last mile of copper owned mostly by Bell regional holding companies. As such, BT has been able to run trials more easily than its partner.
The most recent asymmetrical DSL trial in England, and far larger than any U.S. trial to date, covered 2500 homes and focused on nine interactive TV services. The BT Interactive TV trial is BT's second--the first was a technical trial--with charges of about $8.50 a month for rental equipment and add-ons such as home shopping, games and local community services ranging from about $1.70 to $5, said Gavin Young, BT's technical area leader for copper access.
BT used Westell modems and Alcatel central office equipment and network management for its market trial, as well as Amati and Northern Telecom equipment for its technical trial, he said.
BT has a request for proposal--similar to the joint procurement consortium of Ameritech, BellSouth, Pacific Telesis and SBC--for ADSL equipment.
While U.S. users tend to focus more on DSL solutions for data and Internet use, BT is also conducting Internet ADSL trials with research and development employees, Young said. During all the trials 2000 lines of code collects information every 15 minutes on how the technology is working, he said.
"We know more than anyone else in the world about how this works," Young said. More than 80% of BT customers are within required loop lengths for ADSL, and the company expects to have service widely available by the end of this year or the beginning of 1998. |
