Written by: Eric Peterson

When I was studying at the university, my main means of keeping in touch with family was the phone. In those days, we didn’t have portable terminals with hands-free headsets—most phones were big black models permanently perched on a table or shelf next to a jack in the wall. And not everyone had his or her own phone. I didn’t. I used a neighbor’s phone to receive important calls or went to a phone booth when I wanted to place a call.

Looking back, I am filled with wonder at the tremendous advances that have been made in the past few years. Even so, as I sit here composing this text, I am captive, enduring one of those l · o · n · g intercontinental flights. Does it have to be like this? Our industry is about bridging distance… Do we really have to spend so much time on planes crisscrossing the globe? No. Bandwidth is growing and tariffs are falling. As this trend continues, I predict that communication will undergo a revolution. For instance, in my mind’s eye, I envision that each room of every home will have one white wall. This wall will serve as the monitor of, or “movie screen” for, videoconferencing equipment…

(Yes, I believe in videoconferencing—in my opinion, the main problem with videoconferencing today is the way in which it is set up, with the forced nature of special conference rooms, “broadcasting booths.”)

…I picture myself standing at the stove in my kitchen, cooking. As I finish up, I want to speak to my sister, Kathleen, who lives 7900 km away. I say, “Kathleen, are you there?” The communication equipment in my home interprets my request and sets up a session. Kathleen’s image appears on my wall. She is seated in her study. We see each other clearly, as if we were in the same room together. I take my plate and move into the next room. As I change rooms, Kathleen’s projected image does too, so that we can continue our conversation as I dine…

(I don’t know how we will get the video image to follow me when I need to step outdoors, say, to tend to the dog in the backyard, but the necessary bandwidth will be available!)

The longer I ponder it, the more this dream of mine appeals to me. What, I ask, is needed to make it a reality? Obviously, end-user equipment is needed on both ends of the session. The infrastructure for carrying the data bits must be a multiservice network that carries new and existing telephony services. The new services will have to interwork with one another as well as with those of the “black phone.” And the services will have to work between portable (radio-based) terminals and fixed ones.

So far, so good. Certainly, we have come a good bit of the way. For example, as you read this issue of Ericsson Review, you will see that we have made great strides in the areas of
• speech recognition; • access networks that connect users to the backbone; and • migrating networks to make them future-proof.

While the full realization of my dream might have to wait, I take heart in knowing that our technology will one day deliver the same stimulating and engaging exchanges with customers that we get from meeting them in person—but without the need for grueling intercontinental travel before and after each encounter.

[First published in Ericsson Review no. 03, 2000]