Around the world the pressure is on communications systems as more and more people are using the internet and mobile devices. The telecommunications industry is finding that it has to research new ways of keeping people in touch and providing faster Internet services, and it is estimated that the demand for bandwidth will increase at least 100 times over the next 5 years.
The existing hybrid fiber optic bandwidth may not be sufficient for our global purposes and the industry is looking for ways to improve this well-worn and tested system. Also consumers are demanding cheaper communications and greener ways of operating their mobile devices.
Apple is about to launch its new iPad which was under pressure from competitors almost as soon as it was launched, as it did not have the features such as the built-in cameras that the Galaxy tablet had, although the Galaxy was only launched at the end of 2010. When Apple’s next generation iPad hits the market, it will be lighter than the first, and will have video conference functions with the camera which should, arguably, have been included in the first model. If we take this as an example it becomes obvious that as soon as a new mobile device hits the market, consumers see its flaws and demand a superior version. In the past mobile devices could be expected to remain best-sellers for more than one year before there was a need to upgrade them.
We are demanding faster Internet connections and speedier communication systems and traditional providers are under pressure to keep up with demands. Countries in the Middle East are looking to submarine cables to improve their service and research is underway to improve hybrid fiber optic bandwidth efficiently and effectively. Wi-Fi might be the cheaper way to increase bandwidth but this might not be the answer.
We are demanding more high digital channels and video on demand content as well as better communications with our peers and colleagues who are now spread around the world in different time zones. With the reality of the global village comes a new challenge which communications and information services are endeavoring to rise to. Twenty years ago who could have predicted the advent of the tablet? It all seemed like science fiction then, but today new technologies are improving the way we communicate in ways that our parents could never have envisaged. Landline telephones have only been with us for a hundred years or so, and think about how long it took to invent the mobile phone. Now we are seeing far more rapid technologies arriving monthly. Developments in the communications sector are moving much faster than ever before, but it seems that the faster they are developed the greater the increase in demand for new and better technologies in this field.
How long will it be before Apple unveils the third generation iPad? That may be sooner than we or they think at the moment.
