Phone communications will evolve toward a single, pervasive digital dial tone for high-speed networks. These will offer bandwidth scalable to several hundred megabits per second for handling video over phone lines and virtual reality.
Predictor: Bell, Gordon
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article for Computerworld, Gordon Bell looks ahead: ”Phone communications will evolve toward a single, pervasive digital dial tone for high-speed networks. These will offer bandwidth scalable to several hundred megabits per second for handling video over phone lines and virtual reality.”
Biography:Gordon Bell proposed a plan for a U.S. research and education network in a 1987 report to the Office of Science and Technology in response to a congressional request by Al Gore. He was a technology leader at Digital Equipment Corporation (where he led the development of the VAX computer) and with Microsoft. (Technology Developer/Administrator)
Date of prediction:
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: Bandwidth
Name of publication: Computerworld
Title, headline, chapter name: The View from Here: Unflagging Technology Activist Gordon Bell Previews a Future in Which Plugging in to a Worldwide Network is as Easy as Getting a Dial Tone
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Bolger, John S.