X-TANT is to invest an initial £10m in upgrading its viewdata system to give agents higher network speeds, more choice of travel services to sell, and access to the Internet.
The travel agency system supplier, recently created after an NTL-backed purchase of Istel from previous owner AT&T (Travel Weekly December 16 1998), claims new network will provide an opportunity to move to managed and secure Internet-based technology.
This means that agents can access these and other industry-wide applications through a single network link while preparing them for future trends such as digital brochures and multimedia presentations of destinations.
X-TANT’s managing director Dave Osborne said the upgrade would not be forced on travel agents, who are very attached to the basic viewdata system.
He said: “Not all agents will go from viewdata to using the Internet at the same speed so this must be a managed transmission. The viewdata network will still be there in five years time for those who have not made the switch.
“The point is that we must have the technology in place for those who do want to make the switch.”