The epic technological transition that explains this year’s spate of tech mergers

[Commentary] Now is an amazing time for mergers. Not just because they're all happening at the same time, but because they're taking place amid a grand convergence of all media onto a single platform: the Internet. Voice, video, data -- sooner or later, it will all be carried over broadband. These companies know it. And they're preparing themselves for the epic slugfest ahead.

We're fast approaching the point at which multiple Web-related technologies reach maturity, enabling another major leap. While exciting, it also means the companies behind it will be forced to deal with each other in new and complicated ways. One area where this is playing out is in the cellular market. Mobile data is getting faster and faster all the time; Sprint believes that with the right investments, LTE speeds could reach a mindboggling 200 megabits per second. (For comparison, in 2012 mobile broadband speeds averaged 2.6 Mbps.) Selling Internet access is going to be a key part of the wireless industry's future. Wireless carriers are making less and less money selling their traditional product -- voice service -- and an increasing amount of money selling mobile data. If Sprint gets its way, mobile data will eventually become a real, viable alternative to fixed broadband. Meanwhile, the cable industry is eyeing a lateral jump into the wireless business. So wireless is converging with broadband. Cable is converging with wireless. And data-intensive video will increasingly be available on all three.