ITN chief backs move to ATM

NEWS The head of IT at ITN has explained his decision to install an ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) network to handle the news organisation's multimedia needs. In an interview with Silicon.com, Keith Cass said that when ITN decided 18 months ago to replace VCR and green screen technologies with a desktop-based news production system, ATM was a natural choice. He said: "ATM has a lot of benefits - it's not just our corporate LAN but it actually provides the infrastructure that supports the core business that enables journalists to produce their programmes." The move to ATM saw newsroom mainframe machines replaced with a 300-seat client/server network. "We needed a network that could cope with the traditional use of technology, but also the ability to edit multimedia at the desktop," said Cass. Cass claimed the biggest benefit of ATM is its robustness. "There is no single point of failure apart from the single lead from the hub to the PC," he said. Eventually, ATM will manage the entire ITN network, including remote transmissions using satellites. However, Cass said the high cost of ATM makes this an unlikely short-term goal.