As a result, government agencies are investing in new systems to keep up with demand. Time that used to be spent traveling is time that can now be used productively by employees. The state is looking at similar double-digit growth for 1997. In California, the Department of Corrections launched three separate pilot projects for videoconferencing in 1997. According to government officials and analysts, the growth in videoconferencing can be tied to better technology, which has made it more convenient to hold virtual meetings.
Distance learning is perhaps the biggest user of videoconferencing technology in government today.
That interest has triggered growth in government use of videoconferencing for interviews, public hearings, training and press conferences. Courts now use videoconferencing to arraign criminals, while correctional institutions use it for telemedicine to cut the cost of inmate health care. Meanwhile, advances in technology are improving the performance of desktop videoconferencing. An Internet initiative, known as multicasting, is also expected to significantly improve how multimedia and video can be transmitted. It could be a couple of years before these technologies are accepted on a large-scale, but they represent the wave of the future for video technology.