ARE PHONE LINES REPLACING HIGHWAYS AND AIRWAYS?

The United States could reap a $23 billion annual saving if 10 to 20 percent of activities now done with transportation are instead done using telecommunications, according to a study by Arthur D. Little, a management and technology consulting firm. The study focused on four areas where substituting phone links for transport appears most attractive: working at home, shopping at home, videoconferencing, and electronic data transport.

Benefits would include eliminating 1.8 million tons of pollutants, saving 3.5 billion gallons of gasoline, and freeing up 3.1 billion personal hours for increased productivity of leisure time.