BT has launched an advertising campaign promoting the virtues of tele and audio conferencing as an alternative to the company car. The communications giant believes ISDN links and virtual conferencing can play a major role in combating road congestion and pollution.

This builds on a growing theme, developed by the Association of Car Fleet Operators last year, that fleet managers must think beyond the provision and maintenance of company cars. BT believes business people no longer have to meet face to face to conduct their business, and claims efficiency savings of 40% can be achieved by axing wasted travelling time.

BT stress that the kind of technology available is not as expensive as many companies imagine, saying that basic services such as BT Conference Call requires nothing more than one telephone per person, yet can connect from three to several hundred people worldwide in a single conversation. Video conferencing systems are available from as little as £700, while cheaper alternatives include BT's Conference Call Presenter which uses the Internet to carry slides for a visual presentation alongside the telephone conference.