ATM Switches in LA area

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

The following bulletin was released by GTE on Monday.


Feb. 14, 1994


       GTE BRINGS HIGHLY ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY TO CALIFORNIA
           THIS WEEK; "WORLD CLASS NETWORK" A REALITY




GTE California today announced that it will install highly advanced
switching technology this week in the Los Angeles area as part of the
company's continuing effort to build a "World Class Network" for
customers.


The company said ATM switches -- some of the final components that
permit access to the information superhighway -- will be installed
Tuesday (Feb. 15) at company facilities in Santa Monica, Ontario and
Thousand Oaks. Additional ATM switches are scheduled to be installed
at other California sites before the end of the year.


ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) switches handle simultaneous video,
data, image and voice traffic.  A few of the customer service
capabilities include: interactive distance learning among classrooms
in different parts of a city or state; geographically distant
employees sharing documents and images during video conference calls;
medical experts in separate hospitals concurrently reviewing and
diagnosing X-rays; and residential customers picking movies from
video-on-demand libraries.


GTE's ATM network initially will support educational institutions,
businesses and government agencies.


"The 1990s have been a challenging time for California, but also an
exciting time as we work to build a future that's better than our
past," said West Area President Larry Sparrow. "We've been
aggressively installing advanced network systems here for several
years. The addition of ATM switching makes our long-standing vision of
a World Class Network a reality."


ATM SWITCHES PART OF GTE PLAN TO SUPPORT EDUCATION


Educational institutions are a critical component of GTE's World Class
Network in California. More details of the World Class Network's
educational aspects, as well as business and government applications,
will be announced at a later date.


"We've proven the value of telecommunications in the classroom, and
we've learned that no single product can meet the diversity of needs
present in our schools today. Another difficulty educators face is
technological obsolescence," Sparrow said. "GTE will ensure that
educators have access to technology that meets their individual needs.
ATM's flexibility will help schools avoid dependency on technology
that will become outdated."


Using telecommunications, schools can improve the quality of education
by pooling resources and accessing a tremendous variety of information
and learning materials.


The company has conducted several educational pilot projects,
including programs in the Hacienda-La Puente and Norwalk-La Mirada
school districts, and a distance learning program with California
State University, Dominguez Hills and Coastline Community College.
GTE also has conducted the world's most comprehensive technology test
of educational applications as part of the company's Cerritos Project.