In a classic case of playing both sides against the middle, AT&T Co is to sell and service a private-label version of Peabody, Massachusetts-based PictureTel Corp’s videoconferencing system a mere two weeks after launching a videophone which uses a compression alogrithm from PictureTel’s rival, Com pression Labs Inc, San Jose, California. Unlike the videophone, the PictureTel system works over digital lines and as well as video pictures, and can be used for data, facsimile and other services. The videoconferencing system will be aimed at existing users of AT&T’s PABX switches, of which around 40,000 have been installed worldwide. Also announced were several other moves designed to soup up AT&T’s image as a leading videoconferencing supplier. It is creating dedicated teams around Global Business Video Services and Global Business Video Systems, and is thought to be considering more deals with other prominent suppliers in the field, which would lead to it acting as a sales, service and support arm. A new phone number, 1-800-Video Go, will be advertised in the US for the company’s video conferencing offers. AT&T also announced that it has added a new network-based service option to its Global Business Video Services. The new dedicated bridge option gives customers six meeting sites at a fixed monthly charge, available at any time of the day or night. This move is in line with statements made by Robert Kavner, former head of AT&T’s computer products division and currently group head for communications products, who said in a press statement that advanced video networking is going to change the way people live and work before the end of the decade.
