As folks move to VoIP and cell, the PSTN has to come down. Meanwhile, since fees are lower on VoIP and cell servcies, 911 centers can't afford to operate. As we move away from regulation - especially in Florida - phone calls stop being connected. Call termination issues increase. The USF fund keeps increasing to cover the declining revenue of landline and vocie calls in general. VoIP is data and Skype isn't taxed. The whole system starts to sputter.

As the economy collapses, Telco TV becomes harder to finance, more difficult to operate. Ask Frontier after they purchased VZ assets including some FiOS communities and immediately -- despite promises to the state PUC's - raised TV rates 70+%! Cord cutting is increasing. Now cablecos are looking at packaging cable channels differently.

Bernstein Research Senior Analyst Craig Moffett wrote: "After the necessities of food, shelter, transportation and healthcare each month, the bottom 40% of U.S. households have already exhausted all of their disposable income. There is nothing left for clothing… for debt service… for cable… or for phone."

Back to disruption, all invoices are email. Checks are direct deposit. The mail volume keeps dwindling as email, text, and social take over. It affects voice revenues certainly, but also the USPS! Fred Wilson writes about the collapse of the post office.

You could call this unintended consequences.  But instead of looking at new things - like social media - as ways to do the old stuff, as one more way to push your link or message at someone - look at innovations as ways to re-define your company, your services. How are these disruptions going to affect your business? Can you get ahead of that?