AOL/Time Warner. How did AOL get a stock valuation that allowed it to buy the venerable Warner Brothers/Looney Tunes empire? Because AOL gets over 53 million visitors online a month, that's why. That population, combined with Time Warner's content, makes this the top slot in digital property.
Microsoft/News Corporation. The regulators would scream blue murder if these two merged, but the software company and the content/satellite TV interests of Murdoch would make a potent pairing. Elaborate courtship dances and joint projects give a taste of how the world could look.
Wireless phone operators. Any of the wireless operators left standing after the massive outlays in licence auctions and the cost of installing the next generation of mobile-phone networks will rake it in.
Cisco/Jupiter. The makers of high-speed network technology will have to run to keep up with demand for video, audio and messaging on the net. Fortunately, they seem up to the job, and may even deserve the rewards they're reaping.
Nortel Bay/Lucent. The companies that were smart enough to dive into the converged telecoms/computing arena will rise in power without engaging in the territorial cat fights of telephone operators such as BT.
Psion/Nokia/Ericsson. The growth of devices that let you access the net anywhere, and the Bluetooth technology that lets the phone in your back pocket talk to the palmtop in your hand, put these companies in a sweet spot.
Broadband content providers. As cable connections and ADSL greatly accelerate the flow of data to the computer (or the TV screen), the demand will rise for so-called content aggregators who understand the use of streaming audio and video. Chello and @Home are two of the current major players, but Auntie Beeb is in a good position to reap the benefits, too.
Online banks. Egg, Smile et al are not perfect, but they have grasped the nettle and it is the way forward. Just as direct telephone insurance revolutionised that market, so online banking will take the lion's share of the financial services market.
The first music company that stops bleating about MP3 and works out how to embrace it will make it big. The bubble has burst for overpriced CDs and buying whole albums for the sake of one track. Nobody has any sympathy for the record companies, or the stars, and music sales will never be the same again.
Virgin and EasyJet (and their ilk). These two companies have understood the potential of the web and are determined to change shopping patterns in Britain. Both have strong brands; both have an admirable lack of respect for the golden rules of retail; both are prepared to take chances.
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