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Mobile, data revolution has only just begun

Lauren Kate Rawlins
By Lauren Kate Rawlins, ITWeb digital and innovation contributor.
Johannesburg, 26 Oct 2015
World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says it is estimated there will be 50 billion connected devices worldwide by 2020.
World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says it is estimated there will be 50 billion connected devices worldwide by 2020.

Objects are being connected to each other at the same speed, if not faster, than people were connected to each other through Facebook from 2010 to 2013.

This means companies need to get ready for the Internet of things (IOT) and the large amount of data that will be produced by it, said Arthur Goldstuck, speaking at the My World of Tomorrow Conference in Sandton last week.

"The network capacity is not remotely ready to cope with the demands of the next five to 10 years. Telecoms companies will have to reinvest in infrastructure," said Dr Marcus Weldon, president of Bell Labs - whom Goldstuck interviewed during a recent trip to London.

The world is becoming more and more connected. In 2008, the undersea cables had a capacity of 80Gbps. At the moment, capacity exceeds 55 000Gbps and is predicted to reach 95 000Gbps by 2017.

"The IOT is driving this massive change," said Goldstuck.

There are an increasing number of devices: "We are only at the beginning of connecting 'things'."

In South Africa, 42 million people use smartphones and there are 80 million devices with Internet connections. The number of devices is expected to grow exponentially as it becomes commonplace to make use of more than one device with an Internet connection.

Goldstuck pointed out there are four main areas where growth in mobile and data will be seen:

1. Wearables

Speaking to a packed audience at the conference, Goldstuck stated: "This time next year, most of this room will be wearing some form of smartwatch or health tracker.

"These devices constantly produce data unique to the wearer. Health insurance companies will take advantage of this ? they will be able to tell how fit you are and charge you fees accordingly."

2. Entertainment systems

"There are already TVs that understand voice commands and this will become more commonplace in IOT.

"This means everything you say in front of the TV is being recorded and sent to a server somewhere. Gesture control is also coming soon, and then everything you do will be video recorded and sent to the same server."

An entertainment system or two in each household will create a constant stream of data that will have to be processed and stored.

Goldstuck said this raises security concerns and tech companies will be required to have strict protection in place to guard personal information.

3. Smart homes

"The rise of smart home technology will lead to a massive flood of data coming into your phone," said Goldstuck. The average number of connected devices per person will grow as more homes become 'smart'.

The biggest data generators will be smart home energy, followed by smart home security and then smart home appliances.

4. Self-driving cars

Goldstuck noted self-driving cars are definitely part of the near future. "However, every element of the car and the road will have sensors in it and all those sensors will count as individual objects in the IOT.

"This is where the amount of data is going to overwhelm the current network infrastructure."

According to Goldstuck, 50 billion connected devices are projected for 2020, but with connected cars and sensors, even 100 billion will be a conservative estimate.

To cope with the coming data overload, telecoms companies need to start extending infrastructure now, he commented.

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