Technology is one of the areas that gets a lot of attention. And also is surrounded by a lot of confusion as to what can and cannot be done today and why. I will tell you that some of the most
innovative technology is being developed behind closed doors. Especially by entrepreneurs as well
as federal laboratories supporting commercialization efforts in this space. It's being worked on, but there's not a lot of information about it because developers are looking for the dream of introducing something truly revolutionary and won't reveal trade secrets. From what I can tell you, some of them are airware. Meaning there's nothing really there yet other than a promise of potential once it's commercialized. And some of them, if developed, well, can really revolutionize how we think about and use our electricity.
What do we know about how the intersection of technology and customer expectations can reshape a market? Well, we have already seen some changes in other industries that might give us a hint as to what could happen.
Think about what some of us that are old enough to actually remember landlines saw happen in the telecommunications industry. As you can imagine, telecom is another asset-intensive and heavily regulated industry. In fact, there's a lot of overlap between electricity and telecommunications regulatory bodies and oversight. Looking at this could provide some hints as to where this industry may go. It used to be that phone companies provided wired service to people's homes nearly universally.
Now, I'd venture to guess that some kids today have never even seen a landline and wouldn't know what to do with a corded phone. I happen to live with a few of those vertically challenged and technically gifted people known as kids. Now how many of us don't even have a land line, but only have a mobile phone? In case you're curious, the Center for Disease Control did a pretty
comprehensive study about just that. And right now, it's less than half.
As an aside, if you're wondering why the Center for Disease Control would even track it, it's because they were looking to figure out how many US households had access to 911 Emergency Response services. To get back to our example, our expectations of what phone service meant to us, as well as what we've valued in it, changed. And the telecommunications companies changed along with it. A pretty clear picture of how expectations change is obvious in the messages or promises the phone companies were putting out to the market versus how they're currently talking to you and to me as customers.
Telecommunications companies used to stress call quality and clarity above all else
in their advertising. Now, how many of you have cell service that is always available and always clear? I'd bet not many. And if you do, please tell me who you use. You can even see it in the cell phone companies' advertising now. It often features maps showing where their service is available, sometimes even in direct comparison to the competition. Why is this? It's because this is what matters most to the markets, and cell phone companies know it. Our rules for these companies have changed. We now value being able to bring our cellphone anywhere we are over the sound
quality of the calls we make.
We also want enough functionality to support our critical applications. Pokemon Go anyone? And as proof, that's what the ads are stressing. But is the electricity market the same way? Now that many of us expect and get always available electricity service, would we really be okay with accepting anything less?
From all the research I've seen, not many at all would tolerate this, and it would be a tough sell to all but some small customer segments. But could this change? Maybe, but I think since we are already so reliant on our electricity that type of change would occur in more specific customer pockets versus
a more ubiquitous market. That's my personal opinion, but what do you think? I would love to hear your opinion on our discussion boards
innovative technology is being developed behind closed doors. Especially by entrepreneurs as well
as federal laboratories supporting commercialization efforts in this space. It's being worked on, but there's not a lot of information about it because developers are looking for the dream of introducing something truly revolutionary and won't reveal trade secrets. From what I can tell you, some of them are airware. Meaning there's nothing really there yet other than a promise of potential once it's commercialized. And some of them, if developed, well, can really revolutionize how we think about and use our electricity.
What do we know about how the intersection of technology and customer expectations can reshape a market? Well, we have already seen some changes in other industries that might give us a hint as to what could happen.
Think about what some of us that are old enough to actually remember landlines saw happen in the telecommunications industry. As you can imagine, telecom is another asset-intensive and heavily regulated industry. In fact, there's a lot of overlap between electricity and telecommunications regulatory bodies and oversight. Looking at this could provide some hints as to where this industry may go. It used to be that phone companies provided wired service to people's homes nearly universally.
Now, I'd venture to guess that some kids today have never even seen a landline and wouldn't know what to do with a corded phone. I happen to live with a few of those vertically challenged and technically gifted people known as kids. Now how many of us don't even have a land line, but only have a mobile phone? In case you're curious, the Center for Disease Control did a pretty
comprehensive study about just that. And right now, it's less than half.
As an aside, if you're wondering why the Center for Disease Control would even track it, it's because they were looking to figure out how many US households had access to 911 Emergency Response services. To get back to our example, our expectations of what phone service meant to us, as well as what we've valued in it, changed. And the telecommunications companies changed along with it. A pretty clear picture of how expectations change is obvious in the messages or promises the phone companies were putting out to the market versus how they're currently talking to you and to me as customers.
Telecommunications companies used to stress call quality and clarity above all else
in their advertising. Now, how many of you have cell service that is always available and always clear? I'd bet not many. And if you do, please tell me who you use. You can even see it in the cell phone companies' advertising now. It often features maps showing where their service is available, sometimes even in direct comparison to the competition. Why is this? It's because this is what matters most to the markets, and cell phone companies know it. Our rules for these companies have changed. We now value being able to bring our cellphone anywhere we are over the sound
quality of the calls we make.
We also want enough functionality to support our critical applications. Pokemon Go anyone? And as proof, that's what the ads are stressing. But is the electricity market the same way? Now that many of us expect and get always available electricity service, would we really be okay with accepting anything less?
From all the research I've seen, not many at all would tolerate this, and it would be a tough sell to all but some small customer segments. But could this change? Maybe, but I think since we are already so reliant on our electricity that type of change would occur in more specific customer pockets versus
a more ubiquitous market. That's my personal opinion, but what do you think? I would love to hear your opinion on our discussion boards
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