The world's telecommunications network is not yet 120 years old and is the largest man-made machine of all time. The paper outlines some of the key technologies which have underpinned its development and argues that rapid technological advance, coupled with a convergence of technologies and markets in the IT sector, will create a highly competitive multimedia environment characterised by revolutionary, rather than evolutionary, change. The paper argues that a full multimedia capability, with integrated voice, text and fixed and moving image capabilities, will create major market opportunities and have a pervasive impact on all aspects of commerce and social life. Examples of multimedia services are provided and the importance of a national broadband network infrastructure to deliver them is stressed.