The information superhighway: a bilingual opportunity for small business.

Within the next several years, the so-called "Information Superhighway" will be transmitting voice, data and video into homes, schools and businesses throughout the nation and in volumes never before imagined. This electronic pipeline, combined with anticipated technological innovations, will dramatically change the way we work, play and communicate.

And, of major importance to the Hispanic Business community in Southern California, services on the Superhighway will be bilingual.

What may seem like science fiction today is going to be "business as usual" within the next decade or two, according to scientists at AT&T's Bell Laboratories. Our home and office telephones will be capable of real time Spanish/English translation, equipped with video screens allowing face-to-face meetings domestically or with businesses and relatives anywhere in the world, we'll use "virtual reality" to plan our vacations and many of us will have bid farewell to the traditional office, choosing instead to telecommute.

Cities with Largest Hispanic Population

Mexico City                 14,100,000
Buenos Aires                10,750,000
Hispanic Los Angeles         5,600,000
Madrid                       4,650,000
Lima                         4,608,000
Bogota                       4,550,000
Barcelona                    4,040,000
Caracas                      3,600,000
Guadalajara                  2,325,000

US Census, 1994 World Almanac, 1989

These and the many other technological changes ahead are loaded with possibilities for small- and Hispanic-owned businesses. There will be new ways to conduct business in more than one language, new products and services to create, and new opportunities to leverage technology to your competitive advantage.

It's not too early to consider those possibilities now as many of the products and services are available today. Here are some things available today and on the horizon as we approach the next century:

Speech Recognition

Automatic speech recognition and synthesis will continue to advance and will be quite commonplace 20 years from now.

AT&T has already developed a real time, two-way Spanish/English speech translator with limited vocabulary. Some Los Angeles Unified Schools already have this capability. According to scientists at Bell Laboratories, by the year 2010, we should have the ability not just to translate speech from one language to another, but to transfer an individual's unique personal speech characteristics across languages, to make possible customized speech translators. Speech in one language will be automatically translated into a second language, Spanish to English for example, which then will be synthesized with the voice characteristics of the original speaker. Imagine how much easier this will make life for small business owners who export their products and services and who do business in such a diverse community as Southern California.

Information Services

The information superhighway will bring unimaginable resources to your desktop. You'll be able to do research in libraries and data bases around the world -- in various languages without leaving your home or office. Waiting in line to transact business will be a thing of the past. Bank deposits, airline reservations and even purchasing theater tickets will all be done from your personal computer. So will a great deal of your shopping, whether you're buying office supplies, groceries or a wedding dress.

As telecommunications technology continues to advance, we can expect to enjoy additional benefits in our work and home lives -- and virtually limitless opportunities for small businesses to explore. The smart money will be on those who are looking at those future opportunities today.

Mr. Porter is general manager of AT&T's Global Business Communications Systems small business division providing products and service to businesses in Los Angeles County.