RAC chief executive Neil Johnson used satellite conferencing to give his annual briefing to more than 1,600 motoring organisation staff thereby avoiding traffic jams, saving thousands of miles of driving and cutting a week-long event down to one day.

Traditionally a week-long roadshow, Johnson's 'state of the nation address' was, instead, conducted through three 90-minute conference sessions, held in the space of five hours over a single day, via simultaneous satellite links beamed live from a London television studio.

The satellite conference was watched by more than 1,600 staff in five regional centres as well as employees of BSM, including BSM Fleet Training, acquired by the RAC in a £54.4 million deal last year. The simultaneous satellite link-up came seven months after the RAC published 'Motor or Modems?' - its report on how developments in video conferencing and teleworking would each cut business traffic by a fifth in 10 years and potentially save businesses £2.2 billion.