Hi Will (All):
Now that the benefits of email, shopping on-line, and the instant access to information are becoming widespread, there is no way an elite few will be able to take advantage of this technology while the common masses live in the dark ages. While established corporations are vying to control the information conduit, investors are hoping to make a killing by getting in on the ground floor of the technology that will bring these services to the home.
Although each of the competing solutions will have a role in the future, I personally believe that cable will be the dominant means of delivering these services to the home and Zenith will be the convergence broker who works with the computer and network companies to make these capabilities available to the masses through the familiar medium of television.
If you have had any doubt as to whether cable modems are viable, do a global search and you will see all the deals being cut right now. Unlike the cable companys, the phone companys do not have a long running relationship with content providers and have no technology to manage the distribution of content or deal with customers on this level.
The computer and networking companies have developed modern technologies for routing data, managing network traffic, implementing security etc., using open and well defined standards which are much better suited to the task of building a national super highway which promotes inter-operability rather than the archaic and recondite technology used by the phone companys. It will take years before the phone companys get up to speed in these areas and there are surprisingly few technology sharing arrangements between the telcos and the computer and network companies. You will notice that newer televisions are currently being equipped with Ethernet connections, not the POTS connections used by the phone lines.
Cable has the best potential to evolve into a two-way medium which will let small businesses distribute their wares and allow individuals to interact over video, play games, etc. The adsl solution is a one-way solution with no plans of ever upgrading. In my opinion, this technology will be eclipsed by the Paradyne SDSL which will ultimately end up as the preferred means of shuttling bulk content to the cable providers who will then disperse it to their customers. Wireless is also one-way with little hope at this time of ever providing two-way connections and so will be used to augment distribution from the head end. Fiber channel may provide the ultimate conduit, but lacks the broadcasting capability of hybrid coax/fiber needed to dump large amounts of content to many users and will remain cost prohibitive for many years.
Facing the brutal competition of foreign television manufacturing and the threat of personal computers eventually taking their business, Zenith has operated without profit over the last years while building up their off-shore manufacturing capability and plowing their profits into R&D. I believe they are now in a position to target the kinds of profitable endeavors which will enable them to unleash their engineering prowess and manufacturing capability and restore their stature as one of the major consumer appliance manufacturers in the world.
PS You all might have missed it, but in the SI news over the weekend, Zenith stated their intention to also begin producing computer monitors.
As you can probably tell, I am a long dragon --
not a short squirt. |
