(Tsinghua News Center) Over the course of its 80-year history in the communication technology business, Bell Labs Innovations has adapted to the times so as to “change the way people communicate and even people’s living styles,” according to the company president William O’Shea.

In his speech “Changing the Way We Communicate” delivered to over 500 students and faculty in the Main Building on March 25, Mr. O’Shea explained the current trends and future aims of the communication industry, in which Bell Labs has been a key player.

“Obviously, multimedia services and all those multimedia devices are starting to demand fundamentally different network architecture, so that is what the industry is working on, and that is what Bell Lab is working on,” he said.

Mr. O’Shea also reviewed Bell Lab’s impressive achievements to date, highlighting their ten most significant inventions in the communication industry, including the transistor, the digital signal processor, and the data network.

Nanotechnology will be an “engine for growth” in Bell Lab’s future, he said, adding that the company is focusing on the application of nanotech to the optical and wireless services and is seeking other potential uses for it.

The collaboration with China, especially establishing the joint labs with Chinese universities like Tsinghua, was another important issue in Mr. O’Shea’s speech.

Bell Labs currently has research and development teams in four Chinese cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao and Nanjing, and expects to set up additional bases here, Mr. O’Shea said.

Reported by Ruixi Huang

Photoed by Guo Haijun