José María Álvarez-Pallete, When Telefónica chairman says “the metaverse will be the most profound change the internet has undergone since its birth,” and that that “Telefónica will continue to play an essential role in this evolution of the Internet towards the Metaverse because new experiences will be possible thanks to the telcos’ networks,” he is right.
Without internet access, provided by internet service providers, internet-delivered apps and experiences cannot be delivered.
But Álvarez-Pallete is right mostly in the sense that, in a loosely-coupled internet ecosystem, apps can run on any compliant network. As has been true with the prior development of the internet, when the architecture is separated into layers, app access is “permissionless.”
Loosely-coupled architectures have important business ramifications. Among the most important implications is that organizations can participate in value chains without having direct business relationships with other key participants.
Any lawful app can be accessed by any user with internet access, without the permission of any intermediate participant in the value chain, including specifically any provider of the internet connectivity. That business architecture mirrors the technology architecture of the internet.
What remains to be seen is whether access providers will be passive or active participants in the metaverse. By design, they will be passive conduits, providing the connectivity all internet apps require. By aspiration, they might do other things; assume other roles; provide other value.
Still, in a layered, disaggregated, permissionless ecosystem, metaverses can be created and accessed without formal business relationships. How much--beyond connectivity--is possible is an open question for access providers.
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