Because the area is remote and communications have been cut, it could be some time before there are full reports of damage or casualties at the quake's epicenter.

WSJ: Strong Quake Hits Southeastern Iran

As the Internet spread like a virus in the 1990s, hundreds of utilities, chemical factories, wastewater plants and the like went online to enable remote monitoring and more instant communications.

FORBES: The Next Threat

Satellites for communications, GPS, remote resource sensing, weather forecasting, agribusiness needs.

FORBES: How Much Electricity Are You Paying For To Maintain Your Chevy Volt?

ViaSat delivers fast, secure communications, Internet, and remote network access to fixed sites or on-the-move.

ENGADGET: ViaSat-1 sends its first words through the stratosphere to cooing stateside relatives

Virginia based company Laser Light Communications plans to launch a constellation of 12 satellites to connect remote and mobile platforms like ships to internet via lasers.

FORBES: Star Wars 2.0 - Lasers To Extend Fiberoptic Networks To Space

Mobile commerce is driving the requirement for mobile remote payments, creating new revenue potential for businesses involved in the value chain including Communications Service Providers, banks and credit card companies, transport operators and merchants and also postal operators who have diversified by offering banking services and mobile services through their vast networks.

FORBES: Never Go to the Post Office Again

Cisco's unified communications systems and TelePresence hardware, for instance, which are designed to facilitate easy remote conferencing, may be seen as a cost-cutting measure to replace expensive travel as fuel prices rise.

FORBES: Cisco Sets The Bar Low