What is in store for the communications industry and cell phone technology? What can you expect to become available with your cellular phone? Is regular telephone service an obsolete technology?

The communications industry has been thriving for more than half a century. With so many technological advancements and innovations, where is it all headed?

While many mom and pop businesses are either staying with traditional land line based telephone and long distance service, a good number of them along with an increasing number of mid sized companies are moving on to high speed voice over Internet protocol or VoIP phone services. This allows them to use their Internet connection as their telephone connection helping them to cut costs and raise their bottom line.

Cell phones are making huge strides in their capabilities as well. Not only can you talk and send text messages with your cell phone, but you can check your email, stock quotes and a variety of other services along with surfing the Internet. Recently the cell phone companies have upgraded their services to include high speed cellular connections. So, now you can do even more with your wireless phone.

With so many office based companies using a combination of VoIP and standard phone services, the vast majority of contractor related companies have been using cell phones to conduct their business for years. Now, not only can the contractors stay in touch with their home office, they can update service call statuses in real time, check their scheduled house calls with more freedom, and respond more quickly to customer's needs.

In the future you will probably see nearly all brick and mortar businesses using Internet based telephone services and wireless phones becoming more and more like computers. We can already see cell phones with full keyboards like the Blackberry and others.

You will likely see cell phones with outlets that plug into your car's computer to help you find directions. You could soon be making hotel and flight reservations over the Internet while driving to work in the morning simply by talking to your cell phone which would be plugged into your cars computer planning out your route to the airport and looking up what sights and events you want to visit on your trip; all this just by speaking commands that your phone would understand and perform.

The future of communications is exciting to say the least. Innovation and imagination is the key to this intense growth of technology.