The Future of the Wireless Industry

a) The total wireless market and the number of uses for wireless connections will continue to grow, even though market penetration of individual mobile phone subscribers has reached extremely high levels on a global basis. M2M, or machine-to-machine communications, will be a major growth factor in the wireless industry. Wireless Sensor Networks (the Internet of Things or IoT) will proliferate, providing exciting new ways to gather environmental and industrial data, and to foster automation and monitoring in both businesses and homes. Cisco forecasted 14.7 total M2M connections worldwide by 2023. Growth will continue at a very high rate.

b) Smartphones will continue to evolve into ever more complex, multi-purpose personal communication devices thanks to the availability of apps of all types. The most important development is the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) features into advanced smartphones. Obvious features include photo editing, better search engines and language translation. Over the mid-term, there is the potential for AI to provide an ever-growing array of very innovative AI tools to smartphone users. Tens of billions of dollars are being invested yearly in AI servers, tools and software. This will ensure a broad, rapid rollout of new AI features in the wireless sector.

c) 5G, the newest generation of high-speed wireless, is quickly moving onto the market, thanks to global agreement to 5G standards and rapid introduction of advanced equipment.

d) Security issues, such as eavesdropping on Bluetooth conversations, hacking into Wi-Fi networks and the spread of viruses among smartphones, will require more and more attention and investment from the technology and telecommunications sectors. Hackers and fraudsters will constantly innovate ways to take control of users’ accounts and handsets, causing vast financial damage. There is immense potential here for firms able to come up with viable solutions to security problems.

e) RFID (radio frequency ID) tags will continue rapid adoption by manufacturers, logistics centers, shippers and retailers. Costs will continue to go down, while new ways to use RFID to track inventory and improve efficiencies will be found.

f) The wireless industry will continue to enjoy high profitability and revenue growth. This sector is relatively immune to dips in the economy, as consumers consider their mobile communications to be as basic a need as clothing or transportation.

g) Digital health devices are becoming widespread, with consumers constantly using health apps and mobile devices, monitoring their own vital signs and uploading related data to online sites for analysis. The Apple Watch is a significant innovator in this field.

h) The support that cloud computing provides to the wireless sector will continue to grow in importance, while costs and capabilities become ever more attractive. Cloud computing makes it possible for a vast variety of mobile apps to operate efficiently, while enabling the storage and analysis of massive amounts of data that can be accessed via mobile devices.

i) The advent of self-driving cars and trucks will create intense levels of wireless demand. These vehicles will create immense amounts of data that will be managed wirelessly. Autonomous vehicles will communicate with each other over wireless networks and will also receive continuing updates regarding road and traffic conditions from services known as Intelligent Transportation Systems.

j) “Edge computing” will grow in importance. This is a strategy whereby data is gathered and processed on local, in-field devices in real-time at very high speeds. The resulting processed data can be forwarded, via wireless networks, to central databases for further analysis and distribution.

k) Growing investment in research into “smart cities” will also build demand for wireless connections over the long-term. Urban planners envision vast, powerful networks of remote wireless sensors that will enable cities to operate on a much more effective and energy-efficient basis, in such areas as road traffic monitoring and management, street lighting, air quality, public safety, emergency services and trash removal. The wireless Internet of Things (IoT) will be the backbone of such systems.

l) 6G high-speed wireless technology, which is not expected until the 2030s, promises sizzling download speeds of up to 1 terabyte per second. 6G will potentially offer the first real-time, fully integrated metaverse virtual reality (VR) on an enterprise level.

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