HONGKONG Telecom has joined a prestigious development programme led by software giant Microsoft that aims to design a next-generation broadband networking architecture that allows for interactive television services such as video on demand (VOD).
The initiative, called the 'Insight'programme, gives Hongkong Telecom pre-release access to new server software technology now under development jointly by Microsoft and Tele-Communications Inc.
But Telecom's director of multimedia services, Dr William Lo, said yesterday the move did not commit the company to Microsoft's VOD platform, and that Telecom would proceed with a planned Request For Proposals (RFP) exercise to be issued by the end of next month, which calls for design proposals for the development of a commercial interactive television service by early 1996.
While 'Insight' did not guarantee commitment to the Microsoft architecture, Dr Lo said Hongkong Telecom had approached the initiative genuinely and seriously, with Telecom engineers likely to be sent to the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington, to work with the designers.
'When Microsoft announces that it will actively pursue something, you can't ignore it,' Dr Lo said.
'We appreciate what Microsoft is doing in creating a forum for the major players to swap ideas.' Insight programme members include, among others, British Telecom, GTE, Pacific Telesis, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, NTT of Japan, and Australia's Telstra.