The economics of the communications industries makes
digital delivery very important. All the industries involved
in building and maintaining this interconnected network—
broadcast, cable, telephone, computer, software, satellite
and the consumer electronics industries—want a piece of
the estimated $1 trillion in income that digital delivery
represents.
Leaders of the media industries in the United States can
be the central driving force in this network because many
Americans already have most of the tools that such a sys-
tem needs and many of the companies that are developing
digital products—such as Apple and Microsoft—are based
in the United States.
Because the United States already contributes so many
of the digital environment’s necessary elements, it has
become logical—and very profitable—for the media indus-
tries in this country to drive the convergence technology to
package and deliver information worldwide.