This is the age of convergence of technologies and services in the telecommunications industry, with previously disparate businesses vying for a chunk of each other's turf.

Telephone companies are no longer just concentrating on telephone services but are getting into other areas that computer, networking, data providers, television cable and Internet companies have traditionally had to themselves.

Bermuda Telephone Company vice president of corporate development Eugene Saunders said the company has branched out into other technologies to meet the competition head on.

"We haven't simply been a telephone company for many years,'' he said. "The telephone is a major part of the business, of course. We also offer data communications and computer related services. On the other side there are computer companies that are offering communications services as well. The Internet is blurring all the lines.'' The strategy to expand into other related areas is one of the reasons BTC purchased 51 percent of Bermuda Cablevision Ltd., the Island's cable television provider. It provides internal networking services and also has a joint partnership with Onlines Systems Ltd., which has set up an electronic data interchange (EDI) system for the Customs Department. Once in full operation, Customs will be able to electronically clear all goods coming into Bermuda. EDI opens up the world of electronic commerce.

BTC already has an E-mail service which interconnects with the Internet and expects at some point in the future to provide a full service. Also on the cards is a full data networking service which is being developed for internal and external use.

The convergence of data, voice and video technologies is part of the move to intelligent systems of communications. Mr. Saunders eventually envisions an age where consumers will be able to vocally command their telephones to perform communication tasks.

"We (society) crossed into the information age a couple of decades ago,'' he said. "Probably we are into the intelligent age right now. In a couple more decades it will be something else. We don't know what. Right now there is a consolidation of companies, products and services for the benefit of the consumer. Anyone is best poised to take advantage. BTC has found itself as a technically driven company.'' The consolidation of technologies will drive progress in other areas as entrepreneurs use the technology to develop other opportunities. The Internet, for example, created a workforce of web designers.

Another developing trend, one that is close to fruition, is the push to make communications as a portable asset. Consumers will eventually be able to send and receive information from anywhere in the world without being held back by time and interconnection constraints.

Standards are being worked out between the hundreds of companies providing communications services which will give the consumer the ability to connect seamlessly to get data from one place to another. It's ironic that the move to end telecommunications monopolies and open the market to competition is lowering prices, but is also working against portability. It would have been easier for a monopoly to impose the standards needed for global intercommunications. Now hundreds of competing companies -- locally and internationally -- must work together to set up a standard.

Portability will come of age when the Globalstar satellite network becomes operational next year. A cellular customer will eventually be able to use his phone from anywhere in the world.

Another future development in the works, and one which is being brought about by Globalstar in the cellular sector, is the implementation of a system of global numbers. A person will eventually have a lifetime telephone number which is good worldwide.

Then perhaps the ideal of the global village, which has been a much touted concept but not much of a reality in the wilds of Africa, or the bazaars of India, will finally come of age. Soon my mother will always be able to find me. The horror, the horror.

Meanwhile...

US software developer Synon Corp. is holding a one-day technology briefing June 26 beginning at 8 a.m. at the Hamilton Princess Hotel. The company's software is an add-on to other applications and makes it easier for corporations to use. The company has nine clients on the Island, including the Bermuda Telephone Co. Ltd. and BF&M Insurance Group. Synon has just applied to the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of stock that could total $46 million. Contact Cathy Viau at 905-803-9899.

Be warned: Don't download the latest version of Netscape Communications Corp., Navigator Internet-browser just yet.

The popular Navigator, which dominates the Web, contains a flaw that allows operators of sites to potentially read anything stored on the hard drive of a computer accessing that site. That means someone could potentially rip off all the information from your computer. The flaw was discovered by Danish software company Cabocomm. Netscape is working on correcting the flaw, a major blow against a company which was going gangbusters against Microsoft on the Net.

A major revenue source for the tiny Kingdom of Tonga is the printing and sale of colourful collectible stamps. Now Tonga has found another source of revenue in the Internet. Tonic Corp., based in the South Pacific island, is now selling top-level domain names at its site (tonic.to). Crown Prince Tupouto'a, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, is a major shareholder in the firm and recently commissioned the first public-access Internet operation in Nuku'alofa, the capital. Tonic is also the national registration authority for Tonga.

Tonic is trying to capitalise on the chronic shortage of Internet names in the .com, .org, and .net domains. There are now more than 853,000 names registered in the .com identification, and most of the good ones are taken. The company is selling names with the Tonga identification, .to, for US$100 for the first two years of registration.

Tech Tattle is a weekly column by Ahmed ElAmin which focuses on technological developments and computer industry issues. If you have any ideas for topics or a business you would like to discuss, please call Mr. ElAmin at 295-5881, ext.

241, or at home 238-3854.