Network routers should soon be prepared to handle IP Multicast distribution, so it could become feasible to broadcast live video over the Internet without using an MBONE channel. Situations which afford services on a subscription basis will also become more viable with the use of IP Multicast technology because it would allow the priming of a large number of caches with the broadcast of a single file. The main distinction between this model and a simple multicast model alone is that the multicast is used to replicate cache entries, so that the end users are not forced to access the material at the exact same time. In addition to avoiding the need for real time bandwidth usage, this subscription model of IP Multicast and cache priming is also more convenient since only one set of files need be prepared and sent each day. The NII vision of an interoperable infrastructure is also closer to being realized as the telephone, cable, broadcast systems are becoming increasingly interconnected and interchangeable.

There are also promising developments for the delivery of interactive services over the network, such as Point Cast Client Pull/ Server Push software, JavaScript from Netscape, as well as extensive external programming support in browsers and a virtual machine from Sun's Java (a software interpreter for pre-compiled "machine-code").

Ongoing efforts should be established to take advantage of the technological developments on the near horizon which offer richer and more cost effective delivery of networked multimedia information services at the same times as barriers to the wider deployment of networked multimedia information services are disappearing. Future work should involve evaluating the relative effectiveness of this vast array of options for services production and delivery.