The initial application of microelectronics to paperwork led to an increase, not a decrease in the amount of paper because the initial applications were to standalone equipment such as wordprocessors and laser printers. This technology increased the quality and reduced the cost of producing reports on paper and provided no mechanism for electronic communication. The reduction in paperwork requires the creation of communication networks and standards to automatically communicate messages. The development of such communications networks is taking place sequentially in three stages of increasing difficulty:
1. First, equipment in an office has been connected into LANs.
2. Second, equipment in the various offices on a public or private institution is currently being connected into WANs.
3. Third, communication protocols are being established so that institutions can increasingly communicate electronically.