 of the 21st century have been tough for the telecom industry- with bankruptcies, corporate scandals, and falling stock prices filling the headlines-research hasn't stopped pushing forward. In laboratories world- wide, fundamental discoveries are being made and sophisticated new tech- nologies are being developed that will shape tomorrow's telecom world, making life easier and bringing people closer together. Many of these emerg- ing technologies, like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), radio-frequency identification (RFID), wireless networks, and Web videoconferencing (the PicturePhone's direct descendant), have the potential to become tremendous, society-altering forces. So turn the pages and get an advance peek at the many different telecom concepts that will become available to both consumers and businesses in the years ahead. Think of this book as your portable Bell Systems Pavilion-but without the long waiting lines and silly demonstrations. JOHN EDWARDS Chapter On the Menu Telecom Services Telecommunications has made rapid strides over the past quarter century. We've gone from a limited selection of desktop phones, controlled by a government-sanctioned monopoly, to a virtually endless choice of wired, wireless and Internet-based communications services. Although many people complain about today's chaotic telecom market, they probably don't remem- ber the limited, high-priced communications options that were available before the telecom boom of the 1980s and 1990s. Telecom will continue to advance at a furious pace over the next couple of decades. Even the humble home telephone, a mainstay since the days of Alexander Graham Bell, will likely disappear, perhaps replaced by an Internet-based communications appliance or by an Internet-connected mobile phone. (This is a trend that may already be happening in light of the fact that the number of U.S. residential phone lines has been falling since 2001.) Ulti- mately, people will probably have one phone and one phone number that they'll use both at home and on 