Digital Convergence

Through all the rapidly-evolving technological innovations so prevalent in our society today, there is one unmistakable trend I've noticed, both in my observations and personal experience. I believe that there is a definite trend toward digital media convergence over the Internet infrastructure.

During my experiences doing computer services for people, I set up a number of Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) systems that ran on medium-scale Local Area Networks. These systems provide the performance and scalability of multiple-line traditional phone services, while reducing cost and overhead by running on the same existing internet connection, using spare bandwidth to carry much more efficient, compressed voice data.

Cable television systems are also becoming progressively more digital. As shown in this report by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, digital cable services have seen a 267.2% increase in subscribers between 2001 and 2006. This is the same exact cable infrastructure that carries small-business and residential Internet communications. Reading through Stephen Dodge's blog, I stumbled across this article, from the New York Times, detailing NBC's plan to begin offering their programming via download.

With digital content becoming more and more prevalent, the line between our television and computer is becoming rapidly blurred. Gone are the days of separate telephone, cable, and Internet infrastructures. Consolidating everything into one global, interconnected network will maximize intercompatibility between devices, scalability of networks, and flexibility of geographical location. I believe this is the future, both for entertainment and communications.