Trends for the year 2001 - the communications revolution.

Right now most business people feel, "a phone is a phone, is a phone." But clever, forward-looking business owners will tell you it is one of the single most important pieces of equipment in their office and that the best features are arriving virtually everyday.

Throughout the past century, the telephone has gone through numerous evolutions -- beginning with the original "iron box" invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 to the recently introduced AT&T Desktop Video System. And it won't stop there.

Bell basically envisioned two-way voice communications, eventually leading to a nationwide communications network. His vision came true as AT&T's long distance network now connects people not only domestically, but around the world.

Over the past hundred years, the telephone has become the nucleus of communications at home, work -- well pretty much everywhere. And as we travel through the final decade of this century, communications technology is being reborn yet again.

This is because current communications systems are no longer restricted to transmitting just voice -- they allow transmission of data and images, such as video from virtually anyplace at anytime -- and now, any way! These systems and devices can now do this because they combine communications and computer technologies to make it happen.

Voice processing systems, which most might refer to as voice mail, reside on computers that are connected to a telephone system. It is the software on the computer that answers the phone or provides information on who to call for service or sales. This combination also provides services such as automated call handling and interactive voice response.

When used correctly, voice processing systems increase productivity and lower the costs of any business. No longer are they used primarily for taking messages. Businesses use these systems to inform incoming callers of services or products available and allow customers in different time zones to place orders 24-hours-a-day, opening up the possibility of taking your business global.

Companies involved in evolving voice processing to its next plateau foresee the future producing products with increased speech-to-text capability. AT&T, for instance, recently increased its Conversant(R) Interactive Voice Response System's vocabulary to understand up to 2,000 words or phrases.

More and more computer technology is impacting the world of communications. One of the hottest technologies currently on the market is computer-telephone integration, or computer telephony. So hot, that many telecommunications and computer companies are forming partnerships to take advantage of the opportunities CTI can provide.

Joining these technologies offers users improved customer service and increased productivity. Nowhere is it currently more evident than in telemarketing call center applications. Basically, when a call from a customer comes into a call center, CTI uses automatic number identification, carried with the call over the long distance network, to pass the information through a PBX to the host computer, simultaneously retrieving the caller's account information. The caller's file is sent to the agents PC screen and the agent is able to greet the caller by name and check the caller's file.

Taking a step back a bit, the '80s too brought new technologies to the industry including the introduction of cordless and cellular products. Both "cut the cord" that was once necessary for end-to-end communications, opening up the way for wireless communications products and services in the '90s and beyond.

Wireless business telephone systems are just now making their way into offices, warehouses, and retail stores following the acceptance of business cordless telephones. Providing the same sound quality as corded business phones, multi-line wireless systems and cordless phones offer business owners the opportunity to move freely around the office while retaining the use of all the features and functions of their phone system.

Cellular technology takes things one step further -- to a totally wireless communications environment. By transferring calling signals between cell sites, cellular telephones provide users with unlimited mobility. Whether in their cars or walking down the street, users can always be reached.

Wireless communication will signal an end to the traditional physical limitations of voice and data transmissions. One of the few remaining obstacles holding this technology from exploding on the market is the limited bandwidth available in the airwaves. Once these restrictions are relaxed, wireless versions of key telephone systems and PBXs will begin to appear.

The newest products to hit the market in this age of wireless communications are personal digital assistants. Though the pen and tablet hardware look like a child's Etch-a-Sketch, personal communicators combine mobile computing software with wireless communications technology enabling a more individual type of personal communications.

Currently, personal digital assistants provide users with unique messaging capabilities -- electronic mail, fax, paging, and cellular telephone. Personal digital assistants are designed to help manage all of your personal messaging tools in a single place with a single, common interface.

Bell's "vision" of telecommunications has been supplanted with another "vision" -- one that adds sight to the communications equation. Allowing people to see and hear each other over the telephone is not a new concept and enhancements to technology available some 20 years ago now provides videoconferencing services almost anywhere.

At a time when video is so much in demand -- music videos instead of CDs and tapes, videoconferencing instead of teleconferencing -- consumers and businesses are finding more opportunities to use video communications daily. This is no surprise -- our generation has grown up with television and we expect communications to include visuals.

Now, with products such as AT&T's Videophone 2500(R) and Picasso(R) Still-Image Phone, which connect to regular phone jacks in the home or to selected business telephone systems, anyone can take advantage of this technology.

Furthermore, businesses requiring on-site videoconferencing services now have the opportunity to purchase portable video systems or desktop video systems. Videoconferencing systems connect directly to a telephone system, and are often on a cart that can be moved from room to room. The desktop video again utilizes the combination of telephone and computer to provide voice, image and data right at the desktop.

The future is boundless with communications needs everchanging. Satisfying an insatiable desire to broaden communication options is one reason companies are forming alliances. Customers are asking for multi-media communications -- real-time video, data, and sound -- to be transmitted through networks and equipment, and companies are responding.

So stay tuned and don't be surprised.

Carol McLarty is an AT&T area vice president overseeing sales and service of equipment to large business customers in Southern California.