Telecommunications industry update

Telecoms latest
In 2001 the UK Telecommunications market grew by 8 per cent. Sixty-six per cent of industry employers are looking for mature people and 75 per cent want trained people with the right qualifications. The skills shortage is likely to increase, while the sector is growing.
Network cabling
Many people work in a way that would have been alien ten years ago, with e-business encompassing the entire process of interchanging information between trading partners. Greater efficiency and resulting larger profits require a network infrastructure designed to carry and manage information. The growth in e-commerce shows revenues of $145 billion in 1999 set to rise to $2.4 trillion by 2004.
Intelligent buildings
Intelligent building technology benefits many enterprises, with intelligent buildings systems monitoring and controlling energy consumption in great detail.The UK's first Ambulatory Care and Diagnostic Centre has data rates of up to 1 gigabit per second, enabling medical professionals to plug laptop computers in to bedside outlets and download patient records fast. A structured cabling network enables equipment to be connected to one of 1,000 outlets throughout the building.
Cable TV
Several providers now sell ultra-fast broadband services to customers. At transmission speeds from 128kbps to 1mbps and costs of £25 to 40 a month, Internet use will increase with spin-offs in other areas. Recent standardisation of Cat 6 copper cable enables cable service providers to make an easier transition from traditional co-axial cable and provide enhanced delivery of analogue.
Mobile communications
Public wireless local area network rollout continues, providing solutions for corporate users and enhancing wireless Internet service and telecoms services. North Yorkshire Police has invested £5m in its communications network with a new service that will link 43 sites. 1.3 billion text messages were sent in May 2002, and a new keypad is in development to make it easier to type messages. Latest reports says that: 'Although a full recovery of the telecoms sector is difficult to predict … the economy is gearing up for the arrival of 3G later this year.'
Security Systems
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol will define the future growth of the security systems industry, with network camera and video servers based on ethernet networks revolutionising remote monitoring. Anxiety about rising crime boosts sales of home security products, with 45 per cent of people owning or wanting home CCTV or burglar alarms. Government plans to invest a further £170 million into CCTV systems, with the UK CCTV systems market worth £281 million by 2006, 28 per cent up on 2001.