In telecommunications, the market concentration itself is not surprising.
But in telecommunications, the threat that concentration might shut off sources of information is profound.
The rules that govern concentration in telecommunications are unlike antitrust laws.
Dallas has one of the country's largest concentrations of telecommunications and high-technology manufacturing and services companies.
For one thing, Brazilian regulations designed to avert the concentration of power in telecommunications among a few companies prevent WorldCom from selling its stake in Embratel until next year.
Al Gore has furthered big-business control in America, letting companies decide whether we eat genetically engineered food, letting big agribusiness destroy family farms, and supporting concentration in the financial, telecommunications, cable and health care industries.
But that concentration of dot-com and telecommunications tenants has become a problem as the shakeout in those sectors has continued.
"For telecommunications, these Games have produced the largest concentration of demand for services at any singular event ever," said Brian Pilbeam, general manager of Olympics services for Telstra.
The Old Rules May Not Apply The airline industry, like the information technology and telecommunications industries, tends to evolve toward heavy concentration among few players because of the phenomenon economists call "network effects".
But the attack on the World Trade Center exposed the vulnerability of having a heavy concentration of crucial workers and operations dependent on the same transportation, telecommunications and power grid.
