The innovation revolution awaits: Expectations of a technological bonanza might have been inflated, but new openings are seen for the entrepreneurial opportunist

One factor complicating the postdivestiture technology picture is the fact that there is no longer a single authority that can conceive, design, and implement network-wide advances. Before advances can be incorporated into the network, standards and protocols must be agreed upon-a laborious procedure involving hundreds of manufacturers, common carriers, operating companies, and service providers. The new roles of the Bell operating companies since divestiture are discussed, and some of the innovations they are introducing are described. Special attention is given to the integrated services digital network and line-coding algorithms.