There are sure to be demands to
allocate time (or space, or software, or content, or hardware)
to "minorities", to "public affairs", to "community business".
This is a tax that the business sector will have to pay to
fend off the eager legislator and his nuisance value.
All this is bound to lead to a monopolization of hosts and
servers. The important broadcast channels will diminish in
number and be subjected to severe content restrictions. Sites
which will not succumb to these requirements - will be deleted
or neutralized. Content guidelines (euphemism for censorship)
exist, even as we write, in all major content providers
(CompuServe, AOL, Geocities, Tripod, Prodigy).
The Bloodbath
This is the phase of consolidation. The number of players is
severely reduced. The number of browser types will be limited
to 2-3 (Netscape, Microsoft and which else?). Networks will
merge to form privately owned mega-networks. Servers will
merge to form hyper-servers run on supercomputers in "server
farms". The number of ISPs will be considerably cut.
50 companies ruled the greater part of the media markets in
the USA in 1983.
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