Telcos and Web Communications: Who Wins?

Attention might not be the basis for every revenue model, but it clearly underpins most media businesses. It might underpin other businesses as well, including communications.

So note changes in how and where people in France are spending their "communications" time. Since 2000, attention and time spent have been shifting towards Web-based applications and pursuits, and away from telephone-based communications. To be more precise, 53 percent of "communications" or more might be said to originate in some Web related activity, not a classic "pick up the phone" activity.

Time isn't exactly money, so attention and usage do not translate immediately into revenue. But attention sooner or later will create the possibility of revenue. And if this sort of shift in how people communicate continues, revenue opportunities and potential inevitably will shift.

That doesn't mean revenue-generating endpoints such as mobile phones, other communicating devices or "access" services will stop proliferating. It simply is to point out that when so much communications activity originates in Web-based things, whether enterprise or consumer driven, something new will happen, revenue-wise. It has to.