Silicon Graphics is the first systems company to be named by NTT in its strategy to test interactive digital networks. The planned interactive multimedia services system will link consumers, businesses and government ministries to new kinds of information services and compute power. These new services could relieve traffic congestion by promoting telecommuting, provide remote medical checkups to Japan's aging society and give Japanese households access to video-on-demand, interactive games and shopping. This network could also bring on-line services such as guest lecturers, video libraries and virtual laboratories to schools.
"The interactive multimedia services system, in combination with the fiber optic digital network being introduced by NTT, will serve the expanding needs of a wide range of users," said President Masashi Kojima of NTT. "NTT is very pleased to pursue this project in a spirit of international cooperation with Silicon Graphics, the world leader in visual computing and multimedia technologies. By combining efforts with Silicon Graphics, we anticipate important strides in developing and commercializing application technologies that are crucial to the construction of the next-generation information infrastructure."Throughout the development effort, NTT and Silicon Graphics will promote an open standard that will allow the proliferation of the global information infrastructure, while jointly creating a complete interactive solution. The system will employ a visual software interface and operate over a fiber optical network using Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technologies."It will take the most powerful and innovative technology to meet the demands of the global information revolution. From integrating simple audio and video to defining new methods of accessing and organizing new world data, Silicon Graphics' digital media leadership makes us the premiere hardware and software provider to lead this charge," said Edward R. McCracken, chairman and chief executive officer of Silicon Graphics. "By joining ranks with one of the world's most influential and technically sophisticated telecommunications companies, we will accelerate the development of the interactive information age. Playing a key role in supporting this development effort will be our Japanese subsidiary, Nihon Silicon Graphics, K.K."
This project is part of NTT's Joint Utilization Test of Multimedia Communications, announced in April. Initial deployment of the interactive multimedia services system is scheduled for the fourth calendar quarter 1995. The memorandum of understanding is subject to negotiation of a definitive agreement.
Silicon Graphics, Inc. is the leading manufacturer of high-performance visual computing systems. The company delivers interactive three-dimensional graphics, digital media and multiprocessing supercomputing technologies to technical, scientific and creative professionals. Its subsidiary, MIPS Technologies, Inc., designs and licenses the industry's leading RISC processor technology for the computer systems and embedded control markets. Silicon Graphics has offices worldwide and headquarters in Mountain View, California.
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation and its subsidaries provide Japan's broadest range of telcommunications services, including telephone, telegraph, leased circuit, data communication facility and miscellaneous services. NTT also sells terminal equipment in these operations. NTT continues in its long-standing commitment to international cooperation and procurement. NTT is developing a next-generation network in order to create advanced telecommunications services for the 21st century and its research and development is crucial to realizing this goal.