Current Developments

Personal computers have pushed the limits of the telephone system as more and more complex computer messages are being sent over telephone lines, and at rapidly increasing speeds. This need for speed has encouraged the development of digital transmission technology. Innovations in fiber-optic technology will hopefully keep up with the growing use of personal computers for telecommunications. The next generation of cellular telephones, pagers, and televisions will also benefit from the speed and clarity of digital telecommunications.

Telecommunications and information technologies are merging and converging. This means that many of the devices that we associate with only one function may evolve into more versatile equipment. This convergence is already happening in various fields. Some telephones and pagers are able to store not only phone numbers but also names and personal information about callers. Advanced phones with keyboards and small screens are now in development that can access the Internet and send and receive e-mail. Personal computers can now access information and video entertainment and are in effect becoming a combined television set and computer terminal. Television sets, which we currently associate with broadcast and cable-delivered video programming, are able to gain access to the Internet through add-on appliances. Future modifications and technology innovations may blur the distinctions between appliances even more.

Convergence of telecommunications technologies will also trigger a change in the content available and the composition of the content provider. Both television and personal computers will be incorporating new multimedia, interactive, and digital features. For example, an entertainment program might have on-screen pointers to World Wide Web pages containing more information about the actors. In the near term, before the actualization of a fully digital telecommunications world, devices like modems will still be necessary to provide an essential link between the old analog world and the upcoming digital one.

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1086