In an exclusive for IFA newsroom, we hear from Dr. Volker Ziegler, Vice Chairman of the board of Information Technology Society (ITG) at VDE and Senior Technology Advisor at Nokia, and discuss some of the latest developments and innovations in digital communication.

The digital communications market in 2023 is characterized by groundbreaking innovations and technological advancements that continue to reshape the way we connect and communicate. With the widespread adoption of 5G networks, the exponential growth of IoT, the integration of AR and VR, and AI, as well as the emphasis on data security and privacy, the future of digital communications is looking bright.

There are big opportunities, which lie in the capabilities of digital technology and communication networks to improve the quality of people’s lives and help solve the tough problems we face in society.

Innovation of digital technologies is the key to help the world act together. According to Dr. Ziegler, “the next areas of innovation will leverage the evolution of 5G and 6G networks and the power of accelerating the relationships between public and private sector, where with close co-operation, the developments can be leveraged at scale. Key value drivers include sustainability, security and trust as well as digital inclusion.”

On the trends that are likely to impact the digital communications industry most, socio-economic trends such as geo-political fragmentation, sustainability, cyber security and the role of governments all can have a tremendous impact. “It’s crucial that tech innovation keeps its focus on unleashing human possibilities,” Dr. Ziegler adds.

“The age of the metaverses will be enabled by ease of use and enabling technologies such as 5G, 6G, advanced fibre optics as well as Web3 and block chain software technologies.”

In addition, a pervasive enabler will be AI, machine Learning and the potentials behind this. Security, privacy and trust is also a huge area of technology innovation that will be at the forefront of consumer interest and how the industry addresses and responds to these concerns.

AR and VR technologies will also revolutionise the way we communicate, according to Statista, providing immersive and interactive experiences. In 2023, we can anticipate the integration of AR and VR in various digital communication platforms, ranging from remote collaboration tools to gaming and entertainment. A report by Statista predicts that the global AR and VR market will reach $209.2 billion by 2022, showcasing the immense growth potential of these technologies.

Looking ahead into the next five years in the digital communications industry, Dr. Ziegler says at the industry is one of innovation and growth with so many options for digital transformation of society and industries in the pipeline of research.

“There will be the opportunity to build new eco systems with the ability to connect value chains. We will see an increasing degree of human augmentation as well as the merging of virtual and physical worlds. Leveraging next generation networks with open APIs, Network as Code and provided as a Service, we will also see business model transformation with massive automation as part of this important journey.”

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