Digital visions: where the superhighway will lead

The author looks forward to the world of interactivity made possible entirely by digital communications, storage and compression. Digital technology has also expanded the capacity of communications networks, supporting an enormous rate of growth in traffic. Compression has immediate transmission cost benefits for satellite broadcasters, since an analogue PAL transponder covering Europe, say, may cost £4 million per year. A compressed 8 Mbit/s digital service (Filmnet), with four digital channels per transponder, quarters the cost per programme service. For a 2 Mbit/s digital service, costs could fall to around £250 000 per year. As the cost of compression equipment falls, many more services can be delivered direct to homes by satellite or cable systems