Future Now
The IFTF Blog
"Cardiff, Wales gets an IP-based phone network"
"originally via CNNMoney
(found on SmartMobs)
British Telecom is planning to set up an Internet Protocol-based phone network in Cardiff, Wales by 2010. The $18 billion project is called "21CN" (21st Century Network), and is following the popular open-API model of Google Maps:
But what's really cool about what will happen in Cardiff - and eventually the rest of the U.K. - is that BT is creating an open, standards-based platform for which anyone can develop new applications. In other words, the phone has the potential to become more like the Internet with its proliferation of cool new Web sites, tools and services."This whole thing is based on openness and transparency," says Paul Reynolds, chief executive of BT's wholesale operations. "We want to allow experimentation by application developers."...
By moving to an Internet-based architecture, British Telecom enables that tinkering teen to spend time he might have dedicated to making Google "mashups" to creating a fun application for the phone network. "We are doing what Google is doing," says Reynolds, referring to Google's (Research) willingness to make some of its application programming interfaces (APIs) available to the public.