The UK has shown a remarkable appetite for new communications services. Broadband has become a mass market service - it is the fastest growing consumer technology service of all time and the UK is one of the world’s leading broadband markets. This consumer hunger for more powerful and more integrated services will be satisfied with a rich array of information and entertainment services delivered to whatever device the customer chooses, wherever they happen to be.
Complementing the rapid developments in consumer electronics, home entertainment and broadband content creation, 21CN will underpin the delivery of the newest communications services - from high-speed broadband to mobility solutions of a sophistication and power as yet unimagined by the average user. Customers will have full control over their services, which they will be able to customise, personalise and change in real time.
Services based on the convergence of voice, mobility, video, data and content are now being developed and launched. These include, for example, BT Vision - our next generation television service. It puts the viewer in control by combining the appeal of TV with the interactivity of broadband. Customers are able to watch what they want when they want and not be tied to TV schedules. BT Fusion is the mobile phone service which switches to a broadband landline when the user arrives home or, for business users, at the office.
In the 21CN world, end-users will be able to access voice messages, data or video at any time on any device. It will be possible for users to share personal contact directory across their home phone, PC, mobile & PDA. And bandwidth will no longer be a consideration for most end-users as additonal bandwidth can be requested as and when required.