The horizontal dimension of the matrix in Table 1 depicts what people do with information—create, display, store, process, or distribute it.

Creation

The first function is the creation and collection of information content. In the digital future, content is clearly key, and the networks will evolve to support increasingly rich forms of it. Content includes text, images, data, movies, and television programming (including sports), as well as evolving content, including on-line games and interactive shopping.

Display

The second function is information display. Historically, each form of content utilized its own form of display, creating manufacturing companies with distinct core competencies. For example, textual information has been predominantly displayed on paper; telecommunications companies have used audio handsets; still images have mostly been displayed on photographic paper (with a trend toward plain paper); computer and television images are typically displayed on cathode ray tube (CRT) terminals; and portable computers and similar devices use liquid crystal displays (LCD) and other flat-screen technologies.

Storage

The third function is information storage. Because the creation and consumption of information are typically separated, and because information tends to have lasting value, storing information is a valuable function. Information can be stored through a variety of means: books, magnetic media, CD–ROMs, microfiche, answering machines, film, videotape, audiotape, and game cartridges. Other emerging technologies for storage include DVD–ROMs, flash memory (semiconductor-based memory cards), and holographic memory.

The key driver of the value of a storage system is the extent to which information within it is readily accessible. Thus, storage that permits the use of advanced database-management software, as well as random access, is increasingly preferred over other kinds of storage.

Processing

The fourth function is the processing of information (the applications business), which creates information through the intelligent manipulation of data. In the past, a variety of processing approaches and technologies have been used, based on the specific media. For voice information in the telecommunications industry, companies have used voice-processing technologies. For text information, publishers have used word processors (with spelling and grammar checks) and desktop-publishing software. In the imaging business, companies have primarily used chemical processes to improve images, though software-based approaches are becoming more prevalent. For audio/video information, companies have relied heavily on editing and mixing technologies. Finally, processing has been (almost by definition) the most intensive for data applications.

Transport

The fifth function is the distribution of information or the information transport business. Industries based on different forms of information have developed elaborate and largely separate infrastructures for distribution. The telecommunications industry developed a vast, near-ubiquitous network of copper wires. In the past decade, a wireless infrastructure based on cellular technology has also been created for voice communication. Text information has historically been distributed in a manner similar to manufactured goods—from factory to intermediaries to end users. Image information has largely ridden on the same infrastructure, which includes the postal system and various express-delivery companies. The telecommunications industry has also entered this area via the fax machine. Video and audio information was historically broadcast over the airwaves; but, in the last two decades, the cable-television system has come to dominate video distribution, along with the sale and rental of videocassettes. Increasingly, satellite transmission is also playing a larger role in the distribution of video information. Finally, for data transport, a variety of computer-networking approaches, such as Ethernet and token-rings, have become widespread. The Internet, utilizing the telephone network, has become the ultimate transportation network for computers. The underlying technological and regulatory assumptions governing the separation of these industries by form have been rendered obsolete. The next module details the forces at work leading to convergence.

	Text (Publishing)	Voice (Telcom)	Image (Photography)	Audio/Video (Entertainment)	Data (Computing)
content (creation and collection)	writers, authors, journalists, and advertising agencies	directory publishing and Yellow Pages	photographers, graphic artists, and advertising agencies	writers, singers, musicians, actors, and advertising agencies	information services (Dow Jones, Compuserve, AOL), database publishers, and business transactions
display (devices)	books, magazines, newspapers, and coupons	telephone equipment, CPE (handsets, key systems, and PBX), and wireless (pagers and cellular phones)	photographs, slides, slide projectors, fax machines, printers, copiers, and photo CD	TV, film (movies), radio, high fidelity consumer commercial projectors, VCRs, and HDTV	PCs, PDAs, terminals, and workstations
store (memory devices)	libraries and information services	pagers, answering machines, and voice mail	film, pictures, slides, CD–ROM, and microfiche	videotape, audio tape, CDs, film (movies), disks, and game cartridges	disks; tapes; floppies; optical, flash memory, and PCMCIA cards
process (applications)	printing and publishing industry and word-processing software	voice processing and telco network equipment	photo-developing services, image processing, and linotronic	film production, TV production, and editing	PCs, workstations, mainframes, supercomputers, transaction processing, and service bureaus
distribute (transport)	U.S. Postal Service, other express delivery, fax books, distribution system, and telecom services	telecom voice service, communication services, paging, and messaging	U.S. Postal Service, other express delivery, fax, and telecom services	TV/radio broadcast, cable, satellite, theaters, and video purchase and rental	computer networks (LAN, WAN) and telecom data services

Table 1. Examples of Today's Information Industry