What better time to take a peek around the corner and make some predictions about 2020! Here are some things we are watching closely:
Faster wireless, better coverage: 5G is here now, and it’s here to stay. AND it’s only going to get better. Here’s every U.S. city with 5G coverage right now. In 2020, not only are we looking forward to faster speeds and better coverage, we’re also looking forward to significant advances in fields like telemedicine, connected vehicles, and augmented reality.
Here are some notable advances we have now, just imagine what 2020 will bring!
Telemedicine: The Ginger.IO app provides mental health care services on-demand. With emotional support coaching available 24/7, the app helps increase vital access to care when it is needed most.
Connected Vehicles: Built in sensor technologies are already enabling cars to do awesome things – like self-parallel park. We don’t think 2020 will be the year of the fully autonomous vehicle (AV). But, continued 5G network build out will increase the ability for AVs to smoothly interact with each other, which leads to many benefits such as faster breaking response times to potentially prevent a collision.
Augmented Reality: 5G deployment and advances in entertainment options go hand in hand. Real time data transfer means that we can have front row seats to the best sports games, without actually needing to battle crowds and traffic. That’s something to cheer about.
Enhanced access, increased capacity: We’re using more data than ever. To support this, the government needs to continue to take positive action on making more spectrum available. The crux of this is mid-band spectrum availability, but also some new changes coming to dynamic spectrum sharing.
“Dynamic spectrum sharing changes things when it comes to 5G. The technology, likely available in 2020 in the US, lets carriers use the same spectrum band for both 4G and 5G. Instead of having different roads for buses and cars, DSS is like having one big highway with separate lanes for buses and cars. A software update can quickly turn the current 4G LTE networks into 5G, which means cities and towns can get 5G service faster,” notes a recent CNET article.
Privacy, privacy, privacy: We can’t say that word enough. Congress has been talking about digital privacy all year, but with other political factors at play there has been little movement towards passing significant and comprehensive legislation. We hope this is a trend to watch in 2020: It’s vital we get a national privacy standard in place that is easy to understand and that can protect us all, no matter where we are!
What are your predictions for 2020? Tweet us with the hashtag #DigitalTransformation and let us know!
