The crazy world of connectivity expected in 2016

Wi-Fi has been the buzz word for 2015, an expected ask from every public space in our country; a hotel without Wi-Fi is unthinkable; our travel/everyday destinations are decided basis two questions - mobile connectivity and Wi-Fi. Trust me, the need for Wi-Fi is on its way to becoming synonymous with air and water - available and is taking!

Wi-Fi technology has taken the telecom landscape by storm, reshaping and impacting strategies for many Telco's including Tata Teleservices. Moreover, Government of India's Digital India initiative, launched earlier this year, to ensure that Government services are made available to citizens electronically by improving online infrastructure and by increasing Internet connectivity is expected to take flight in next few years. So how will these developments and the accelerated roll out of Wi-Fi in all forms, both on the device and network side, impact our lives in 2016 and beyond?

There are some very interesting trends and innovations lined up next year. Here is a look:-

Fortifying the Transit
Smart up your homes
Time shifted Video content - (TV on Demand) here we come
Next-generation Wi-Fi Calling
Rise of LBS
Innovative and socially impacting uses of Wi-Fi technology
Wi-Fi offloading becomes an imperative

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Stadiums race to digitize: How sports teams are scrambling to keep Millennials coming to games

Younger fans are leaving stadiums when they can't get connected, so sports teams are finally embracing technology as a way to improve the fan experience and increase the team's bottom line.
Imagine walking into a stadium and your smartphone immediately pings you that a $30 premium seat upgrade is available for purchase on your mobile device. As soon as you settle in to enjoy that awesome view of the game, you use your smartphone to order a pulled pork sandwich and imported beer delivered right to your seat. Then, when your favorite player scores a touchdown, you use the team's app to watch an instant replay at multiple angles and a stadium-exclusive video feed of the players on the sideline. Later on, when nature calls, the app directs you to the closest restroom with no wait time.

This isn't a far-fetched futuristic stadium experience. It's already available at some venues, and others are rushing as fast as they can to add next generation digital systems that will make attending a game in person an immersive, connected experience.

There are three reasons that stadiums are pushing to improve connectivity:

1. Changing demographics
2. Luring fans away from their big-screen TV at home
3. Boosting revenues

Whether by building from scratch or retrofitting existing facilities, stadiums are in a fierce competition with each other to add the latest technologies.
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Super Bowl 50 smashes data records with 10.1TB flying across Wi-Fi

Super Bowl 50 set records, as predicted, and not just of the Peyton Manning variety. It was a record-breaking day because 10.1 terabytes of data was transferred over the Wi-Fi network at Levi's Stadium on game day, according to the NFL. That's the equivalent of 6,000-plus hours of HD video or almost 1.2 million 2MB images.

This was a 63% increase compared to the 6.23 terabytes of data usage at last year's Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Ariz., as previously reported in TechRepublic's article, Super Bowl 50 to showcase tons of new tech, shatter bandwidth records.

By halftime, the showdown between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. had already surpassed the previous record for data transferred at any sporting event. As a result, this means that Super Bowl 50 achieved levels of network performance and data usage never seen before at a single sports and entertainment event, according to the NFL. The data figures were compiled from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Pacific Time on February 7.

"The performance of Levi's Stadium's connectivity was nothing short of amazing," said Michelle McKenna-Doyle, CIO for the NFL, in a press release. "It blew away all our previous records and provided strong consistent connectivity for our fans to share their memories. We were very pleased."

The high tech stadium opened in July 2014 and features 400 miles of data cable, more than 12,000 physical network ports, more than 1,200 Wi-Fi access points, approximately 1,200 Bluetooth beacons, and a backbone of 40 Gbps of available internet bandwidth.

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Connecting everyone to the internet won’t solve the world’s development problems

By 9.30am today I will have skyped Malawi, emailed Ghana, Facebooked Nepal, paid a bill online and used the satnav on my mobile phone. It feels a long time since we first got colour TV at home and, years later, when I accessed the internet using a dial-up modem. When I recalled these moments to my son he yawned. Aged, 19, he doesn’t remember a time before ubiquitous connectivity.

According to a new report from the World Bank, more than 40% of the global population now has internet access. On average, eight in ten people in the developing world own a mobile phone. Even in the poorest 20% of households this number is nearly seven in ten, making cellphones more prevalent than toilets or clean water.

There is no doubt that the world is experiencing a revolution of information and communication technology, bringing about rapid change on a massive scale. But despite great expectations for the power of digital technologies to transform lives around the world it has fallen short and is unevenly distributed, with the most advantages going, as ever, to the wealthy. The World Bank argues that increasing connectivity alone is not going to solve this problem.

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Four critical things that make a Digital India possible today and challenges ahead

This government's Digital India campaign is a welcome step in creating an India of the 21st century powered by connectivity, technology and the opportunity that such connectivity offers in terms of access, services and platforms for unleashing India's creative talent.

However, it is imperative to understand what it means to create a 'Digital India'. Such an effort requires an entire ecosystem of support and an apparatus for implementation that has to be developed and matured over a period of time.

While the face of Digital India may be a website providing e-governance or connectivity between the citizen and the government, the thinking, vision and systems that produce this end product are implemented over several years.

Full story in ET dt. 5th Jul 2015 by Sam Pitroda

Connecting everything: A conversation with Cisco’s Padmasree Warrior

Cisco’s chief technology and strategy officer describes how the exponential growth of connectivity between people and devices, both mobile and network, will change commerce, business systems, and individual behavior.

Despite two decades of increasing connectivity between people and devices over high-tech networks, only 1 percent of what could be connected in the world actually is, argues Padmasree Warrior, Cisco Systems’ chief technology and strategy officer. As the level of connection swells over mobile and other platforms during the next decade, she expects sweeping changes in how consumers shop, businesses handle data, and individuals grapple with the data available about themselves. This interview was conducted by McKinsey’s Rik Kirkland in Davos, Switzerland. What follows is an edited version of Warrior’s remarks.

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