Let’s now take a short visit into the future.

Strategists at Nortel estimate that by 2010 there will be 10 devices connected to the network for every person using it. Which translates roughly into 5 billion connection points worldwide.

Network providers will have to build platforms for them all as well as creating applications for people using them.

What opportunities do these present for Vox Spectrum? We estimate applications in voice-based public information systems will be in the travel, tourism, entertainment, healthcare, shopping, securities and education sectors. In business and personal areas, they will continue to expand in terms of telephone use, presentations and  dictations.

In both cases, networks that offer voice-browsing will provide plenty of scope for products such as DG Vox.

Meanwhile, our subsidiary companies find themselves in equally interesting times.

In India alone, mobile telephony subscription is expected to reach 500 million by 2010.

Mobile phone can of course perform functions way beyond their basic purpose: 3G allows web content downloading in seconds; cameras can take pictures of up to two million pixels; bluetooth lets users instantly share images for free; music applications are increasing; and everyone, it seems, is talking convergence.

Yet, all the additional functions in the world are pointless if connections are poor or unreliable.

Quality of service will be the major factor by which mobilephone users choose a network provider in an increasingly competitive market. So infrastructure which prioritises
quality remains of paramount importance.

With this in mind, and with tremendous advancements in technology, ever increasing penetration, highly sophisticated networks and innovative applications, companies of the Vox Spectrum group feel confident in projecting significant growth during the next few years.