"GEE WHIZ" ATM APPLICAITONS ON THE HORIZON Nathan Felde, executive director of multimedia communications at the NYNEX Science & Technology laboratory in Cambridge, Mass., waxes evangelical about the potential of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) applications. After touring his surroundings at the NYNEX Science & Technology Center, it's easy to see why. In one area, three people sit at a large color monitor viewing a sophisticated multimedia cardiology application that includes simultaneous full-motion video, audio and graphics applications being shared between two doctors. In a nearby air-conditioned room, a prototype ATM switch capable of switching 2.4 gigabits is being tested. All around, there are circuits and monitors and wires connecting them. Next to the switch room, Felde takes a seat, puts on his microphone and dials a colleague in White Plains, N.Y. But this is not your normal telephone call. When Eddie Singh answers, his full-motion image appears on a six-inch screen attached to Felde's computer. "Hi, Eddie," Felde says. "Hi, Nathan," Singh replies in hi-fi audio, as co-workers walk around in the room behind him. Felde and Singh chat informally in a manner reminiscent of George Jetson and his boss, Mr. Spacely. For them, this fantastic connection _ which consumes an entire T-3 hunk of bandwidth _ is something they take for granted. For the uninitiated, however, it is a fascinating glimpse at the future. "This is the beginning of making broadband available to millions of part-time users, much the way people use the phone today, " Felde states. "Time is now the scarce resource, but bandwidth is an abundant resource, and we want to make it available on demand."