Home Front: Terrorist Threat Renews Interest in the Internet

Editor's note: This is the third installment in TheStreet.com's Home Front series, a collection of twice-weekly features that examines how American business, society and investing have changed in the post-Sept. 11 landscape.

In the post-Sept. 11 landscape, many workers are afraid to fly, open mail and even go to the office.

To keep their businesses running and put their employees at ease, companies are shifting resources toward establishing safer forms of communication. Telecommuting and teleconferencing are replacing risky air travel. Email advertisements and Internet catalogs are supplanting direct-marketing campaigns via regular mail.

In essence, companies would rather combat computer viruses and worms than anthrax and plane hijackers. As a result, firms have initiated or accelerated the deployment of various Internet projects. Such moves may alter investors' outlook on certain companies in the beleaguered telecom sector. ...