Welcome to the 3D internet, the dawn of a brave new world

Imagine you’re in a meeting with an important client. As you put your smart glasses on, information overlays your field of vision. On the right, a weather update reads, “20°C – Heavy rain expected at 3 p.m.”. To the left, an incoming email notification shows that upper management has approved the deal. On the centre, the words “INDICATES INTEREST” hover just above your client’s face, offering real-time insights as she discusses a potential investment with you. This is the future reality of 3D internet wearable glasses.

Every decade sees a significant shift in screen technology. A decade ago, we transitioned from computers to handheld devices. The next leap? From handhelds to wearable glasses.

Globally, the average digital screen time is a staggering 6 hours and 37 minutes daily. This means nearly half of our waking hours are spent in front of a screen, surpassing even our average sleep time. Fueled by the dopamine rush of social connectedness, we check our screens every 12 minutes on average. Breakdowns include Facebook at 58 minutes, Instagram at 29 minutes, and YouTube at 43 minutes.

Short-form videos (SFVs) like reels and TikTok videos account for half of all internet traffic. The days of referencing physical recipe books on how to cook Christmas dinner are behind us. Now, inputting current fridge or pantry contents yields instant access to hundreds of 1-minute video tutorials. This effortless content transition isn’t just entertainment; it’s about education, efficiency, and effective messaging. An hour spent on TikTok or Instagram reels uses about 1GB of data. In Southeast Asian markets alone, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam rank amongst the top 8 countries for TikTok users aged 18 and above.

So, what’s next?

 Imagine a world where screen technology transitions from handheld devices to wearable glasses, leveraging augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and extended reality (XR) for an immersive experience. Welcome to the “3D Internet.”

The evolution of the 3D internet will revolutionize our conception of the online world. It takes what we currently view on a flat 2D screen and transforms it into an immersive 3D experience, blending the tangible and the virtual. VR, especially through head-mounted displays, offers 360-degree videos and immersive gaming. Conversely, AR overlays digital information on our real-world perception.

Now there is extended reality or “XR”, a catch-all term encompassing the best of both AR and VR, including mixed reality. With XR, events come alive through mixed reality and real-time holographic communication. Imagine wearing sleek, lightweight AR glasses that allow you to virtually shop at Chanel’s flagship Paris store as if you were physically there.

What is the Digital Infrastructure Challenge in delivering 3D Internet?

The evolution of the 3D internet will place substantial demands on the network in terms of both stability and capacity. Specifically, this transformation will introduce three primary challenges, such as consuming roughly three times more data for the same content, increased usage during peak traffic hours, and requiring for tenfold higher bandwidth and double the latency in the mobile networks. As the market size for XR industry is expected to soar to $473 billion within the next 5 years, the demands on network infrastructure show no signs of slowing down.

Those neutral host digital infrastructure companies who own current cornerstone 2G and 4G grid in Asia have an added responsibility in deepening its product offerings to street furniture capacity sites, fiber last mile, indoor and outdoor small cells and edge computing to its competencies.

They are also working closely with mobile operators and hyper scalers for precision radio planning, collaboration with teach partners for nextGen products and liaison with municipal councils and the world for faster rollout and deployment.

Who are the users of the 3D Internet?

To intensify the impending network demands, it’s important to identify the primary users in the next 5-7 years.

Gen Z (born 1996 – 2010) and Gen Alpha (born 2010-2024) collectively constitute 43% of the global workforce. These groups are expected to account for a whopping 80% of global data usage by 2030, establishing them as the leading consumers of 3D internet.

Historically, they represent the first generations termed as “digital natives”. Every aspect of their lives is deeply integrated with the internet. They are ubiquitously connected, rely on the internet as an essential reference, and demonstrate characteristics like short attention span, high intelligence, socially and environmentally responsible, value in social equity and inclusivity and a propensity for crowdsourcing for most things in life.

At the peak of their internet consumption in 2030, they are projected to consume 214 GB/Cx a month (compared to 13 GB today), demand for data speed of 1000 GB/s (as opposed to 100 GB/s currently), and expect latency of around 10ms.

Exhibit: Use of internet and its key characteristics by GenZ and Gen Alpha by 2030

The real conundrum is not whether we are prepared to serve the people by 2030, but rather how we can gear up to cater to the needs of the people of 2030. 6G technology is anticipated to be commercially available no later than 2030, potentially operating between 95 GHz to 3 THz, offering speeds up to 100 times faster than 5G.

Researches have developed a chip-sized microwave photonic filter, designed to segregate communication signals from noise and suppress unwanted interference across full radio frequency spectrum.

This innovation is projected to aid next-generation technology in transmitting data in environments saturated with signals. Japanese telecom providers are joining forces to cultivate all-photonics networks, aiming to amplify transmission capacities by 125 times, enhance energy efficiency by 100 times and reduce latency by up to 200 times.

Evidently, there’s substantial groundwork required for us to be adequately equipped to deliver the future’s demands for blistering internet speed of 1TB/s and ultra-low latencies of 10ms.

A Brave New World

As we edge closer to 2030, the demand for high-efficiency, high-speed and reliable connectivity with ultra-low latencies will be like nothing we have seen before. Demand for data is inevitable and different version of internet with totally new network requirement to emerge hence the digital infrastructure as well.

Given the sunrise of 5G and potential pivot of 6G by the end of the decade and the delay of the 4G sunset to 2040, resilience is key in our rapidly evolving digital landscape is required. A robust investment in digital infrastructure is no longer a luxury – it’s a requisite to address the requirements of tomorrow.

Welcome to the “brave new world”.

About the writer

Gayan Koralage is one of the pioneering members of EDOTCO Group. He speaks and writes frequently as a thought leader in the mobile and neutral party host telecom tower industry, covering key topics such as the business case for 5G, network disruption, digital economy, digital transformation and inter-generation opportunities.

Gayan currently serves as the Director, Group Strategy, responsible for long term strategy, pricing, and commercials for the group. He has spearheaded the formation and growth of EDOTCO since 2013 to help it become a global top six tower company, currently present in nine Asian markets.