BT Bids Switched Telephones Good-Bye

[Janina Sajka]

>From NewsScan Daily
11 June 2004


BT TO SHUT DOWN 'CIRCUIT-SWITCHED' NETWORK IN FAVOR OF VOIP
     U.K. giant British Telecom will gradually shut down its traditional 
circuit-switched network and migrate over to technologies that route phone 
calls over the Internet. The change "will deliver our vision of a 
converged, multimedia world where our customers can access any 
communications service from any device, anywhere -- at broadband speed," 
says BT Wholesale CEO Paul Reynolds. The new system will enable each 
subscriber to have a single phone number for both mobile and fixed-line 
services, and will make possible such add-on features as family conference 
calls, video streaming and voice-activated phones. BT estimates that by the 
2008-09 fiscal year, the new network could save it about £1 billion 
annually. (AP 10 June 2004)
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20040611/D834FNTO0.html


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				Janina Sajka, Director
				Technology Research and Development
				Governmental Relations Group
				American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)

		Chair, Accessibility Workgroup
	Free Standards Group (FSG)

Email: janina at afb.net		Phone: (202) 408-8175