Graham Fletcher - The Internet Centre Inc.

Age: 59
Company: The Internet Centre Inc.
Title: President
Location: Edmonton

What do you do?

In 1994, I launched the Internet Centre as Alberta's first commercial Internet service. We've accomplished quite a lot, working with the Government of Alberta to roll out both Alberta Supernet connections and high-definition (HD) televideo conferencing for taxpayer-sponsored literacy and volunteer groups. For the first time, there's now a truly affordable solution for HD video transmission over a standard Internet connection. With a large-screen monitor, you can see and hear in more detail than you'd experience in a regular meeting. The camera can easily and quickly pan onto a whiteboard, or right into the pupils of someone's eyes. Also, you can simultaneously sync people and computers onto the same monitor.

What significance does HD video conferencing have for the oilpatch?

It's a breakthrough technolog y for staff meetings and consulting of all kinds, for group training, for distance education courses, for certain types of medical emergencies, even for workers who want to enjoy close contact with their families. On screen, you see every facial expression, every gesture-you can sense everything but smell. The savings in travel time and expense often pay for the equipment very quickly. Because transmission is over the Internet, there is no per-minute charge for the actual calls.

In the past, video conferencing has been either expensive or low-definition-what's the cost for HD technology now?

A company that needs to handle multiple calls concurrently on one screen-for instance, a meeting that includes people from seven locations-will pay about $8,000 for a 50-inch flat screen monitor, an HD camera, and related equipment at each location. We're now moving to 48 concurrent calls. A home model with fewer bells and whistles sells for well under $2,000, and it still provides full HD quality. I think we'll see this gear for sale in the big electronics retail stores in a year or so.

What are the limitations of this technology?

People who live beyond fibre optic transmission networks still have fewer options. In remote areas, some oil companies are installing towers and radios that can handle high data transmission volumes. Today's consumer-grade Internet radios still don't have enough capacity for HD video conferencing. Also, a recent regulatory ruling means that Telus can legally deny access to its existing copper telephone lines. In more than 260 communities, that "unloaded copper" represents the only economical link between the customer's home or office and the Alberta Supernet [a fibre-optic network that spans the province]. Amazingly, the federal ruling applies only to the four western provinces, not to Ontario and Quebec. Our company is asking the federal government to reverse this decision from Industry Canada. We'd like to provide affordable video conferencing services now that Telus doesn't offer to smaller communities.