Innovation rooted in reality

The world of telecoms has changed almost beyond recognition since the 1970s. Phil Holmes, BTexact's chief technology officer, talks of technology mini-revolutions. There are two elements to Holmes's work. One is to look at what's going on within BTexact and communicate that to the rest of the group and the outside world. The other is to keep abreast of what's happening elsewhere and spot the areas worth pursuing. When BT enter the market they tend to provide a service of great geographical coverage, certainly at a competitive price, and probably with greater opportunity to bundle services together. Supporting new services means that old equipment has to be replaced. Examples of technology innovations discussed in the article include multi-protocol label switching and broadband.