BT Begins Interactive Trials

British Telecom has begun technical trials of its new project, Interactive Multimedia Services, which will allow consumers to order films, programmes and consumer information from a menu on their television set and have them delivered via the telephone network. The BBC, Carlton, Granada and LWT are all supplying programming for the trials and BT plans to add other services such as home shopping.

The trials are being carried out by 70 BT employees in Ipswich and involve asymmetric digital subscriber loop (ADSL) technology. Once these trials have been completed BT plans to conduct consumer trials with 2,500 households in the autumn. Paul Reynolds, director of Information Communication at BT, envisages that eventually customers will be able to carry out tasks such as changing a standing order at their bank. There will be no restriction on the use of telephone lines while the services are delivered.

It is estimated that BT will have to spend £15bn to upgrade existing telephone lines and increase computer capacity, to make the service available throughout the UK.