Bangkok--Mar 9--LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES
BANGKOK, THAILAND -- A global society connected by bottleneck-free communications networks, abundant bandwidth to handle services such as around-the-clock movies on demand and interactive TV, and many small wireless base stations connected to fiber networks to give businesses and consumers access to "always on" networks are some predictions Lucent Technologies vice chairman, Ben Verwaayen, made here today.
Verwaayen is on a two-day visit to Thailand and made his remarks in a presentation to journalists at the Pacific City Club in Bangkok. Excerpts of his talk are as follows.
"This communications revolution is bigger than any one country, company or technology, although technology is driving the revolution," Verwaayen said. "For example, microchips double in density and speed every 18 to 24 months, fiber optics doubles its transmission capacity every year, wireless capacity rises one thousand fold every five years and communications software now exists in an open, distributed environment.
"The communications revolution is creating a digital economy, and its shape can be seen today," said Verwaayen. "I am proud to say that Lucent Technologies is in the center of the communications revolution in the new millennium and we are already bringing new technologies to Thailand and to the rest of the Asia Pacific region as it recovers from its economic struggles."
The international economy will be based on knowledge - not "just" information, but how to use it - and barriers to entry by new competitors will steadily crumble, he said. Competition will increasingly be on a global scale. "It is all about harnessing information to create prosperity and where innovations and creativity are the keys to success, regardless of nation or region." As abundant bandwidth becomes too inexpensive to meter, he said, business models will be transformed. "Networks will be on all the time, and information distribution will be done electronically rather than physically, because it will be less expensive," he said.
The network will no longer be passive but become a high-level mediator between people and information. "For example, networks will be able to find people with whom one wishes to communicate, and they'll provide real-time language translation, as well," Verwaayen noted. "Services won't be an expensive and exclusive commodity because they will come from independent software vendors," Verwaayen said. "Instead, services will enable people to have access to individualized, customized applications. For example, the network could track and report on stocks. And the user will be able to modify services to suit his or her personal needs - buying and selling certain stocks automatically, for instance."
Verwaayen also said the Internet will evolve into a broadband "Hi-IQNet". The "Hi-IQNet", for example, will allow software agents to swiftly find any information users desire, because frequently-sought data will be stored in easily accessible "caches." In addition, there will be more natural interfaces between users and networks, with networks responding to spoken commands.
All these changes mean that in the near future, people will conduct their lives differently "Distance will become irrelevant," Verwaayen said. "Intermediaries will disappear, consumers will have ample power and unlimited alternatives, and goods will be customized to serve a 'market of one' - a single, global market."
For example, distance learning, where one professor can teach thousands of students at the same time, is already reality, as is tele-medicine, which can enable doctors to diagnose and treat patients even when separated by hundreds of kilometers. With regards to Thailand, Verwaayen said that Lucent believes in and is committed to the country in the long term. "Thailand is a strategic market for Lucent Technologies. Thailand is a conducive place for investment and it is business focused and has a skilled labor pool," he said. "This fits well into Lucent's multi-local approach to our global business. We combine our global capabilities with our local in-depth, in-country knowledge to produce solutions that are of lasting value to Thailand. "In addition to our business activities, Lucent has an active philanthropic program in this country, including a three-year, US$600,000 scholarship program for 250 school children and 50 teachers so that they may continue with their education during these difficult economic times," Verwaayen said Lucent Technologies has a significant presence in Thailand, including manufacturing, sales and service. The company's Asia Pacific regional headquarters is in Hong Kong and its worldwide headquarters is in Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA. Lucent Technologies designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronic components. Bell Laboratories is the research and development arm of the company. The company's web site is http://www.lucent.com.
For more information:
Khng Eu Meng Pongprach Surojnametakul Lucent Technologies
Mobile: 65-96712434 Presko Shandwick (Thailand) Ltd. Office: 66-2 2570300
[email protected] [email protected] End.