The continuing consolidation of the telephone market, landline and cellular, can lead to only one thing: monopolization. Sure, in addition to a dominant one or two providers, there is a struggling train of stragglers. But there were multiple suppliers during the former AT&T;'s reign, too. No one was deceived by the existence of Podunk Telephone in Paducah that AT&T; wasn't in supreme control. All common carriage service tends to end in monopolistic market control through consolidation, collusion, or regulation. It's an axiom of business, supported by the entirety of utility history in America. To paraphrase The Who, soon, too soon, the "new" AT&T; (the former SBC) is the same as the old one. The rest hardly matter.
They used to call "structural holes" gatekeepers, power brokers, or wheeler-dealers. More kindly, impresarios, which is what I feel like everytime I make a LinkedIn connection. Unfortunately, the burden on those with the biggest holes is starting to dissuade them from joining, which only leaves a crater in their place. What structure can we use to bridge these voids?