em that does not support H.323, much less H.320, specifications. Moreover, packet-switched (H.323 and SIP) gateways are now replacing circuit-switched products. What has made this possible is interoperability. Standards have been good for the industry, specifically the H.32x standards. Approved by the United Nations' ITU-T in the neutral environment of Geneva, Switzerland, H.320 fostered peaceful coexistence in the video communication market. H.320's IMPACT ON GROUP VIDEO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS The ITU-T approved its H.320 standard on December 14, 1990. Beginning in 1991, second tier videoconferencing product manufacturers (e.g., BT, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, NEC, Panasonic, and Toshiba) began building H.320-compliant products. The first major U.S. codec manufacturer to incorporate H.320 into its product was VTEL. It provided free software upgrades to users of its newer systems. In 1991, American video communication systems manufacturers sold about 3,500 systems. Of that number, fewer than 5% were shipped with Px64 (the heart of H.320). Once the standard became well known in the U.S., customers began demanding that the two main players, PictureTel and CLI, make it available. Early in 1992, CLI, announced H.261 upgrades at a cost between $6,000 and $20,000. PictureTel was next, and offered its standards-based Link-64 upgrades for $9,000. By 1992, more than 70% of the 6,500 codecs sold globally included the standard. Generally, products were shipped in a multi-algorithm arrangement that also included a proprietary scheme for single manufacturer conferencing. In 1993, the number of products that shipped with the standard increased to more than 90%. By year-end 1996, the number was nearly 100%. Video Communications: The Whole Picture Although suppliers did not like to see standards transform highly differentiated products into commodities, customers quickly realized the benefits of interoperability. Interactive multimedia is not limited to exchanges within a single organization and, since not all organizations select the s