The communications and networking arena is rife with new technological developments, which have been instrumental in increasing the reach and affordability of the Internet. This renewed reach has opened up new avenues in various fields, be it e-commerce, distance learning and correspondence, civic governance, or knowledge sharing. DOCSIS 3.1, G.fast, and 5G LTE are currently the most talked about among the fresh innovations, and are expected to deliver extremely high-bit transportation and ultra-low latency.
Speed is one the most important success factors for the Internet, since fast Internet speed creates unlimited possibilities. This is especially so as new-age tech such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and virtual working are fast becoming the norm. To give you an idea of the kind of speeds that exist, most parts of the world operate at about 4 Mbps Internet connections. The average speed in the US is about 15 Mbps. High-speed regions also include South Korea (26.4 Mbps).
But these trends are about to change over the next three to five years, according to Market Management. Tech advancements in the following three areas will drive this speed revolution:
Fixed broadband: The erstwhile standard in fixed broadband networks has been fiber of FTTH. However, slowly but surely, DOCSIS 3.1 and G.fast are creating a dent in this trend. These newer technologies operate by using fiber up to a distribution point (FTTdp), but eliminate the need for service providers to run fibers to each home, and instead run on a hybrid fiber coax network. The Full Duplex DOCSIS 3.1 works on the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification standard. The second important network module is the G.fast, which also works on the coax model. It is capable of providing last-leg connectivity in rural areas, thanks to a DSL subscriber base. The standard speed with G.fast is 500 Mbps, over a 100-meter run of twisted-pair copper telephone lines.
Mobile broadband: 5G LTE is the best bet for the future of the Internet. Cisco predicts that mobile IP traffic will grow three times faster than fixed IP traffic, and will amount to 16% of all IP traffic by the year 2020. The immense increase in mobile subscribers, thanks to better affordability and awareness, is a contributing factor. However, the demand for speed is highest from mobile usage. Current average Internet speeds on mobile range around 4 Mbps in most places. It is time to look beyond 4G LTE and even LTE Advanced. LTE Advanced offers speeds in the range of 225 Mbps to 300 Mbps, but everyone wants more. Another 4G LTE comparable, WiMAX, also did not achieve the super speeds one had dreamt of. 5G LTE is the hero of the future, expected to be rolled out in the early part of the next decade. While an average speed of 100 Mbps will be possible for 95% of the users, peak speeds will be around 10 Gbps. This shows promise for a truly connected world.
Other disruptive developments: A company named Starry is known to run a demo that involves using its own devised millimeter wavelength technologies to “beam” gigabit-speed Internet services to subscribers.
While these new-age technologies show much promise, the fact is that the economics of delivering these to a large population remains a challenge. Internet service providers (ISP) are not only trying to make the Internet faster and better, but also figuring out what the end consumer will ultimately pay for. All the components, i.e., the hardware, software, protocols, switches, routers, architectures, regulations, and guidelines should display a break-even potential. While we are definitely on the path to 100 Mbps speeds, there is still time for us to get there as a whole.
