  In many cases inhomogeneities are known to exist near the metal (or
superconductor)- insulator transition, as follows from well-known domain-wall
arguments. If the conducting regions are large enough, and if they have
superconducting correlations, it becomes energetically favorable for the system
to go into a Josephson- coupled zero-resistance state before (i.e. at higher
resistance than) the material becomes a real metal. We show that this is
plausible by a simple comparison of the relevant coupling constants. We also
illustrate using data in the literature on oxide materials as well as
ultra-thin films, that when this proposed Josephson state is quenched by a
magnetic field, an insulating, rather then a metallic, state indeed appears.
