Based on fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) and fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) and employing asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) technologies, NEC has developed a total broadband access system that is managed by an access network/service management system. FTTC and FTTB are widely expected to enable the provision of multimedia services using existing telephone lines from the curb to the home. NEC can offer total multimedia service infrastructures by combining ATM switches, video servers, and set top boxes with this new system and intends to launch the system in markets worldwide.
In July 1996, NEC concluded the transaction with Packard Bell, a major U.S. manufacturer of PCs, which calls for the merger of NEC's PC operations outside Japan and China and its PC server operations in the United States and Europe with those of Packard Bell. As a result, the name of Packard Bell was changed to Packard Bell NEC, Inc.
Together, NEC and Packard Bell NEC are striving to maintain and develop their positions as industry leaders by making use of NEC's comprehensive strengths in C&C technologies and Packard Bell's mobility and speed in introducing new products that meet customer needs. Packard Bell NEC will market products under the brand names of NEC, Packard Bell, and Zenith Data Systems, which was previously acquired by Packard Bell. NEC will support the new company in the development of new notebook PCs and PC servers as well as in such areas as marketing and quality control.
NEC's Express5800 series of WindowsNT(R) servers have become the most popular PC servers in Japan. NEC has begun marketing these products in Southeast Asia and Oceania in response to the growing use of PCs and the need to build network systems in those regions. NEC will promote sales of these competitive products not only in Japan but also in other markets around the world.
The PowerVR LSI enables 3-D graphics games to be played on PCs, with the quality of the graphics exceeding that of home video game units. In May 1996, Compaq Computer Corporation, a major U.S. manufacturer of PCs, decided to use the PowerVR in its new series of desktop PCs. In addition, through a subsidiary NEC will market expansion boards mounting the PowerVRs for PCs. NEC expects the PowerVR to be adopted by more PC manufacturers and to become the de facto standard of this kind.
Much is expected of color plasma displays, whose wide angle of view, light weight, and thinness have enabled the development of large-screen, wall-hanging televisions. In December 1996, NEC will commence sample shipments of its COSMOPLASMA 42-inch color plasma display. NEC has also developed an industry-leading 42-inch wide color plasma television, which is scheduled to be launched in February 1997. NEC anticipates plasma televisions to be a leading information interface for 21st-century households and is working toward meeting the needs of what it expects to be a rapid-growth market.
In tests, NEC has successfully transmitted light signals through a single optical fiber at a record capacity of 2.6 terabits per second(1 terabit = 1 trillion bits). This was achieved using wavelength division multiplexing techniques, which allow numerous signals of different wavelengths to be transmitted simultaneously through one optical fiber. Approximately double the previous highest recorded figure, 2.6 terabits of information is equivalent to that contained in 600 years worth of issues of a daily newspaper. NEC expects this technology to become one of the core technologies for the realization of such new multimedia services as video-on-demand and videophones.
