Shift from Legacy Services Now Has Reshaped Comcast

Some trends are so long in coming when they finally materialize, it seems unremarkable, indeed, commonplace. The near-term trend is that all retail communications service providers now can be called "Internet service providers," even when they also sell many other services.

The next big transition is that Internet access will be sold extensively, then eventually perhaps primarily to enterprises operating sensor networks. 

In each case, the reasons are that markets aimed at "people" are saturating. Suppliers can only sell so many devices and accounts to people. 

As a shift from accounts based on "places" (fixed networks) was supplanted by accounts sold to "people" (mobile networks), so in turn will account volume eventually be driven by connections provided to networks of sensors and controllers. 

In the near term, though, the developing trend is that high speed Internet access is becoming the strategic service sold to human users. Video, voice and messaging increasingly are ancillary.