The Future's So Bright I Gotta... ...

...wear shades"  - Timbuk 3

Quick name some of the hottest technology and business opportunity areas around. Would you say:

- Globalization
- SaaS
- Mobility
- Collaboration
- Telemetry (GPS, RFID etc)

Telcos are bang in the middle of each of these. They are going to be selling billions of mobile phones in India and China and roaming minutes and hotspot coverage to all of us as we travel globally. They will be hosting and connecting massive SaaS grids. They will be delivering video and other content across growing broadband markets. They are linking rapidly growing eBay, amazon, Open Source and other communities. They will be carrying messages across billions of sensors.

And they are bitching about VoIP and content providers "using their pipes"? Last time I checked consumers and taxpayers already paid for those "pipes", and in many countries taxes continue to largely subsidize them. Time to move beyond over priced land line and voice plans.

Yes, telcos should be crying - but because they need better shades for the future which just looks so darned bright...