I joked about it, but just look at how many millions of lives were affected when one satellite shifted in its orbit last week. So - full service and global reach. In communications, major players will offer customers a variety of product packages that tie up all their needs in one neat bundle, on one bill. And technology will lead us to use one platform to do it. Experts predict that when the dust settles in communications, there will be only a handful of truly global competitors, along with a multitude of niche providers.
Problem is, public policy is having a hard time keeping up with that market reality.
Missing from our arsenal are long distance and, to a great degree, high-speed data services. West Virginia has two primary regional calling areas, a legacy of the 1984 break-up of the Bell System. Until we're allowed in long distance, we can't carry calls or data across the artificial boundary separating these areas, or from this state to any other. But the long distance companies have not built the necessary Information Age infrastructure to connect West Virginia's powerful new in-state telecommunications network to the rest of the world. This situation threatens to make the Mountain State a high-tech island.