Video Teleconferencing Service: Bridging the Distance

     A few months ago, I turned on my television and there was a teary eyed lola being shown in an advertisement. She was sentimental because it has been many years since her eldest kid left to study abroad. It has been many birthdays, Christmases, and wedding anniversaries, and countless dinners since all of them sat on the table – sharing food, stories, and laughter. It is her own birthday and she terribly misses her eldest child. Fortunately, her youngest daughter turned on their broadband connected computer and called her kuya via video chat. And just like old times, all of them are together though separated by huge distances. Then the tagline appears, “ Parang katabi mo lang sila”.

     It is a technology that goes by many names; videoconferencing, video teleconferencing, video streaming, video chat, etc. It has many purposes; from the simple holiday greeting, to the casual daily talk between two friends, and even the vital conversations between participants in a business conference. It has many forms and functions, but what it essentially does is to enable two persons - separated by long distances - to talk face to face, in real time! The Philippine Navy prefers to call it Video Teleconferencing Service or VTS.