Last week, policymakers and technology innovators gathered at The Near Future event in Washington, D.C., where attendees tried out and caught a glimpse of the exciting virtual reality, augmented reality, and technology experiences to come or that are currently in their infancy. The conference may be over, but the Near Future is just getting started, waiting to meet us around the corner and to lead us into a future with endless possibilities.
Every day, new technology and media experiences are launched that, as The Near Future conference emphasized, will forever change the way we LIVE, LEARN, WORK and PLAY. And each of these experiences will require faster and more reliable networks than ever before.
It’s predicted that the average U.S. home will use up to 291 GB by the year 2020, more than double the amount used in 2015. VR videos alone use 300 MBPS, while holographic displays, which will play a huge role in education and in building smart cities, require robust networks that can handle the millions of 3D pixels in each frame. Fortunately, many internet service providers are already ahead of the game, offering gigabit speeds that will allow for the interactive and immersive encounters that television programmers, gaming innovators, and technology gurus are preparing to release.
From autonomous cars to breakthroughs in telemedicine to advanced video conferencing, the technology of the near future will break down the barriers that many of us face in our day-to-day lives, allowing for long-distance collaboration and deep interaction, and enriching and changing our lives for the better.
Take a look at these immersive experiences that lie in wait and the networks that will make the “near future” a reality.