The implication of this is that you could scan a person using some advanced form of the technology used to perform MRI scans, and transmit that scanned information somewhere else -- using normal electrical or sound signals -- where it would then be reassembled into an approximation of the original.
Optical technologies have revolutionized long-distance communications, replacing low-capacity copper wiring that carries electrical signals with combinations of lasers and fiber-optic cabling that send information over many high-speed channels.
Pricing information aside, utilities and grid operators could more accurately pinpoint the location of a problem in the electrical network--eliminating the need for repair crews to scramble for hours to determine where a power failure has occurred.