AT&T Co and an undisclosed Japanese partner are to build an active matrix liquid display plant in the US. Production at the new facility – the first of its kind in the US – will begin within a few years, Electronic News reports. Like Motorola Inc and In Focus Systems Inc, who also announced a similar US venture last month (CI No 1,991), AT&T and partner will produce displays exclusively for their own products, although a general release into the market will be considered if production expands. AT&T is likely to use the displays in its videophones, telecommunications products, palmtop and pen computers. The initial plan is to build displays of no more than 6 diagonal although sources say there are hopes of scaling up to 10 screens for laptop notebook computers. AT&T, which phased out a development project only a few years ago, has been keen to involve itself in the flat panel market again. While needing Jap-anese technology to start up, it is keen to maintain its independence and will probably prefer to keep its partner in a minority position. Industry sources have speculated that the mystery partner could be Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, which builds displays for AT&T videophones. Previously, AT&T considered joining the production alliance proposed by Xerox Corp but could not wait for the project to get off the ground. Connections with the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, which includes NCR Corp and Digital Equipment Corp, have continued however. The group is preparing a bid for a US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-funded research centre for active matrix liquid crystal displays, and any technology developed by the proposed centre might be used in AT&T’s planned manufacturing facility. Meantime, yet a further US liquid crystal display production site plant in the US is under consideration by Hyundai Electronics Co of Seoul, South Korea.
