Miniaturization in electronics, always characterized by Moore's Law , is such a disruptive technology. Photonics is improving at twice the rate of Moore's Law and has been doing so for 10 years. This is where the idea of cheap or free bandwidth comes in. The fact of the matter is that there's only so much of it. These things are continuing despite predictions by pontificators like myself in the past decade that Moore's Law was going to run out of steam.
Same thing is true for photonics .
It's not just going to be a little more of what we do or doing it a little faster. It's going to mean new products, new customers and much more widespread use of the technology. It will make a much healthier and more exciting industry than we have seen in the past. Even with more competition, the structure of the industry has remained as it has been for the last 100 years. The carriers provide the services.