Telecommunications executives gathered for a day of brainstorming, roundtables and insight sharing at the second edition of NExsT in New York City on April 11, to strategize about how to fully realize the potential of fifth generation networks (5G) and the Internet of Things.
These ultra-fast networks are already starting to roll out in 2019, and bring huge benefits beyond just lightning-quick download times for smartphones. 5G networks are needed to enable new technologies like self-driving cars, smart cities, robotic factories and less wasteful farming practices – potentially therefore reducing greenhouse gases.
As a global leader in the manufacture of optical fibre, and the world’s largest producer of telecoms cables, Prysmian Group has a close understanding of the benefits of this technology. The NExsT Forum provides a platform to explore today’s key connectivity, optical fibre and infrastructure issues through the views and insights of industry leaders, helping to shape the future direction of new technology development. The first edition was organized by Prysmian in Paris in 2018. The discussions at NExsT centreed around the need for collaboration across the industry to build successful 5G networks. The “wireless” 5G network is really not wireless at all. It relies deeply on fibre as a backbone, and fibre optics cable networks are key to unlocking this potential. Deloitte Consulting predicted in 2017 that an investment of $130–$150 billion in fibre infrastructure would be needed over the next five to seven years in the United States.
