Web tone

Just as we are accustomed to always hearing a dial tone when we pick up a telephone, so now do online users want an always-on connection to the Net. The term "Web tone" is derived from dial tone, but unlike dial tone, it implies Internet access from mobile or wireless devices (as well as from smart homes, for example, with kitchen appliances that may one day connect to a company database via the Net to download a fix or retrieve a new technology update). Overall, the emergence of Web tone suggests that the Internet will be as important a communications medium as the telephone, and that there is a demand for always-on access with the same quality of service we expect from the telephone system, if not better.