Video conference boom nears
Generally considered to be an industry in its infancy, video conferencing is nonetheless subtly revolutionising the way people live and work - its development and importance taking shape at differing speeds with varying priorities throughout the world.
The way the technology is being applied varies greatly according to the geographical and socio-economic configuration of the country in question.
Australia, for instance, has become a champion of tele-medicine; patients from outback regions have video access to general practitioners or even specialists such as psychologists.
In Japan, penetration began with a service for the elderly and disabled, enabling banking and shopping facilities from the home.
In Bangkok and Manila there are plans to install video conferencing points throughout the cities.
The concept in the US has, not surprisingly, already caught on. Inkos, a former printing services firm which began offering the facility, proved its success by becoming one of the 'cool technology' companies to be listed on the Fortune 500.
Also prevalent is the transfer from telecoms carriers to service organisations; for example a business hotel implementing video-conferencing facilities.
The Island Shangri-La hotel has since June last year been offering guests 24-hour access to a video-conferencing system in the hotel's business centre.
The fact that hotels do no longer consider video conferencing a potential deterrent to travelling (rather it has become a useful business tool that can even prolong a guest's stay) is an important step towards the acceptance of the technology.
It also aids the development of new markets.
The next logical step, it seems, is to use video conferencing for tele-commuting.
While it is already commonplace in the US, the idea is slowly picking up in Asia.
Large regional financial companies with trading offices worldwide are now installing video-conferencing points at their top executives' houses to process transactions and conduct business more conveniently from home.
However, the development of the industry is uneven and relies heavily on the telecoms infrastructures of the countries concerned.
Although video-conferencing links can take place through satellites, cables or dedicated lines, the relatively high bandwidth ISDN lines remain the most suitable lines for most applications.
In places such as Hong Kong and Singapore, the digital infrastructure offers reasonable coverage.
Since turning digital in 1992, Hongkong Telecom has managed to cover only 7 per cent of the territory, yet the company has been busy developing connections into China.
In Hong Kong and Singapore, the early users of video conferencing were financial organisations and large multinationals, but both have developed applications with their own flavour.
In Hong Kong, video conferencing is being used between companies' headquarters and their China-based manufacturing plants.
The technology is also a helpful tool for local merchandisers who can source goods such as garments and commodities, through video conferencing without leaving their Hong Kong office.
