POS standing changes: meaning for war and industry

As some of you may know, CCP has announced a major revamp to industry.

Industry in EVE is a critical function.  I would go as far as to say that with no industry, there is no EVE.  It's a key step in the great "creation destruction" cycle.  And industry really needed attention.  So much so that it will need more than one expansion to get it done!  (note how invention and POS management won't be touched).

These changes have been announced and discussed  in more than one venue and I'm sure there are several more out there, since it's so fundamental. 

I would like to humbly focus on a single change: the standing requirements for POS, and its impact on both industry and war.

Currently, there are standing requirements to install a POS in high sec (and low sec too I think?).  The higher the sec status, the higher the standing requirement. In 0.8 and higher, POS could not be installed, period. 

Under the new regime, there will be no standing requirements.  You want to install a POS in 0.9 Amarr space and the Amarr space has never heard of you?  No problem!

I'm in favour of these changes.  There will be more room for POS than there are now - and POS are about to become more important for high sec industry.  It also provides more flexibility to industrial corps.  But these changes *will* have consequences, some of them perhaps unintended.

First of all, I predict there will be more POS in use.  This will lead to an increase in the price of towers, associated equipment, and POS fuel, leading to an increase in ice prices.  In the medium term, a number of these new POSes will be abandoned, creating opportunities for scavengers.

The cancelation of standing requirements should make industrial corps more willing to accept new members, as said members won't mess up the standings.  However, this may be cancelled by the changes in BPO handling, making them more vulnerable to insider thefts.  Time will tell.

I think though the biggest changes will be in corp mobility.  Many small corps have to jump through hoops to deal with standing issues to intall their POSes.  Once in place,  moving becomes a huge hassle.  The removal of the standing requirements will make it easier for a corp to move. 

This increased mobility will have a serious impact on high-sec war.  Small corps that are wardeced and do not wish to fight might simply pick everything up and leave.  Demand for POS-clearing services and standing grinding services will fall sharply, putting certain types of mercenaries - and certain types of scammers! - out of business.  On the other hand, stealing someone's moon will also be easier as replacing a destroyed POS with another will have one less hurdle to overcome.   Still, with the increased flexibility for corps and the vast supply of empty moonspots about to be released, POS warfare in highsec will certainly diminish. 

Lastly, one note of caution for industrialists.  While I think we can all be happy at the prospect of easier industry (I really am looking forward to the new UI and am intrigued by the "teams" concept), there is a caveat.  The current challenges with industry (especially T2 manufacture) keeps away many players.  Easier industry  means more industrialists, more supply and less profits.  Also, easier industry means less time spent clicking etc.  For some of us this will mean proportionally less time grinding and more time clicking.  For others, with more time will come more production.  Someone managing 2 accounts may now get a third to take advantage of this extra time to make more modules or drones or whatnots.  Again, increased supply will mean reduced prices and less profit.  Be careful what you wish for, you may just get it.