By Tom Pullar-Strecker
New Zealand Infotech Weekly (New Zealand)
Copyright 2006 Wellington Newspapers Limited
Lucent executive Thomas Evans says Telecom’s mobile network could be used by police, fire and ambulance crews to relay live videos of emergency scenes back to hospitals and control centres, once it is upgraded later this year.
Telecom recently confirmed a US $10 million contract with Lucent which will begin upgrading its T3G network to technology standard Revision A by Christmas, increasing the speed and data capacity of the network.
Mr Evans, a consultant based in Lucent’s Swindon office in Britain, says the biggest improvement to the network will be in its ability to quickly upload information from customers’ phones and computers.
The types of applications that stand to gain are peer-to-peer video services, multiplayer gaming and Internet telephony services such as push-to-talk.
In Britain, the National Health Service has trialled using video links from ambulances back to hospitals so doctors can see injuries and prepare for the arrival of patients, he says.
Mr Evans says there may not be an individual application enabled by Revision A that consumers would be willing to pay $50 or $100 a month for, but research indicates a willingness to “pay for life-enhancing experiences”.