Communicating ...Chamber offers video conferencing facilities

by Melissa Wilson

SBJ Staff

When "The Jetsons" began airing in the '70s, children and adults alike were shown animated images of everyday space travel, a robotic maid and a telephone that allowed people to see each other while speaking.

While the space travel and robotic maid haven't become realities in the '90s, advanced audio and video communi-cation has.

Since April 1996, video conferencing equipment has been available to the public for rent at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, 202 S. Hammons Pkwy.

Chamber members pay $150 per hour and pros-pective members pay $200 per hour for domestic conferences. The chamber provides a staff member to set up and assist during the conf-erence as needed.

"When we moved into this building (John Q. Hammons Enterprise Center) we wanted to offer more to the business community and also be on the cutting edge of technology. We partnered with Southwestern Bell