The 5G network will support more than 10% of global mobile connections by 2023, according to the Cisco Annual Internet Report, paving the way for “more dynamic mobile infrastructures for AI and emerging IoT applications”, including autonomous cars, smart cities, connected health, immersive video and more.
Further, these advanced performance capabilities will be supported by average speeds of 575 megabits per second, representing a 13-fold increase on current average mobile connection speeds.
With a robust network in place, it is expected that M2M connections will represent about 50% (14.7 billion) of total global devices and connections.
“The proliferation of IoT connections will bring a new wave of data and awareness of our daily activities and digital footprints, via smartphone apps and other devices,” said Thomas Barnett, director of service provider Marketing at Cisco.
“For businesses, data is the new currency and we are all becoming data scientists to some degree, whether we know it or not. New uses and applications for IoT data will evolve from virtually every business segment – hospitality/travel, retail, financial services, energy, agriculture – and many forms of online activity will be monitored, analyzed and applied to business strategies and tactics,” he continued.
The report covered mobile, Wifi and fixed broadband networking with quantitative projections on the growth of users, devices and connections, as well as network performance between 2018 and 2023.
It found that by 2023, more than 70% of the global population – equivalent to 5.7 billion people – will have mobile connectivity, whether it be 2G, 3G, 4G or 5G, and 66% of the global population – equivalent to 5.3 billion people – will be internet users.
Subsequently, device ownership will rise to 3.6 networked devices/connections per person and nearly 10 devices and connections per household, with almost 47% of these video-capable.
The resulting demand on networks and service providers will drastically change how they scale future operations. Barnett predicted focus will fall on new application requirements that extend bandwidth, computing and data storage resources to the edge.
“Expansion and growth will also require new cybersecurity measures to prevent and mitigate risk. As more devices and connections are supported with more scalable networks and cloud computing, there are new targets for nefarious activity. The good news is that artificial intelligence and machine learning can serve as powerful tools to automate security and detect intrusions before they become problematic or catastrophic.
“Service providers will also continue to be focused on monetization – how can they generate revenue from the ongoing investment and innovation they are devoting to their fixed/Wifi and mobile networks,” he said.
