Zoom will be local version-only for Chinese users

Zoom will be local version-only for Chinese users

Video-chat service Zoom will stop offering direct services to users based in China, although it will still be accessible through the company’s local partners.Why it matters: Zoom, the US-based company founded by Chinese-born Eric Yuan, has been caught in the crosshairs of the trade war and rising political tensions between the two countries. Removing direct service support in China highlights yet another retreat for the company in the Chinese market.Zoom users surged as a popular choice for business professionals during the global lockdown resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.Zoom’s move may h… (more…)

Silicon Valley inventor of ‘cut, copy and paste’ dies

Silicon Valley inventor of ‘cut, copy and paste’ dies

San Francisco (AFP) – Silicon Valley on Wednesday was mourning a pioneering computer scientist whose accomplishments included inventing the widely relied on “cut, copy and paste” command.Bronx-born Lawrence “Larry” Tesler died this week at age 74, according to Xerox, where he spent part of his career.”The inventor of cut/copy & paste, find & replace, and more was former Xerox researcher Larry Tesler,” the company tweeted.”Your workday is easier thanks to his revolutionary ideas. Larry passed away Monday, so please join us in celebrating him.”A graduate of Stanford University, Tesler specialize… (more…)

Find a tech-life balance through Digital Wellbeing

Find a tech-life balance through Digital Wellbeing

Kuala Lumpur, 22 November 2019 – Is technology getting in the way of people experiencing fuller lives? Has it become next to impossible to unplug? Most importantly, is there a way to find a balance? Such were questions pondered by a group of content creators, influencers, and members of the media brought together through Google Malaysia’s Digital Wellbeing Retreat, here in Templer Park Rainforest Retreat, Rawang.

Handpicked for their ongoing passion in tech and its impact on people, participants of the retreat were challenged to a series of experiential activities that got them considering their own tech consumption habits, away from the concrete jungle that they’re used to.

A mindful reflection of habits

The one-day retreat, the first of its kind held by Google in Malaysia, was the perfect opportunity to establish conversations around this topic: to sow the seeds of awareness especially through the participants who were not only receptive but have a voice to inspire similar consideration in others.

From the get-go, Google’s digital wellbeing message was clear – it does not mean locking your phones away for extended periods of time, but rather learning how to engage with tech healthily and productively. Technology should add to our lives, not distract from it.

Kickstarting the session for the day, Nadia Khan, Communications Manager for Consumer Products at Google Malaysia expressed the following:

“What we hoped for, from all participants was to be ready to challenge themselves with specific actionable items. Whether that’s limiting themselves to taking only 1 photo of each activity or to turn off notifications for the day.”

“It was amazing to be part of the discussions today and it’s an important conversation to continue having. Digital Wellbeing is very personal and different for everyone because we each have a different relationship with tech. Some of us rely on this for our livelihoods, while others may be concerned with how their kids are growing up with technology. We hope everyone that attended today has left with a plan of how they’ll each find their own balance with technology.” she continued.

The retreat comes as a welcomed initiative in light of a study which revealed that Asians spend around 439 minutes – roughly 7 hours in total – on screens per day. Of that time, around 2 hours are spent on a second screen while watching TV.

Participants immersed in a series of talks and interactive actives in the retreat – Top left, clockwise: 1) Sampling ‘Kuih Cara’ courtesy of a cooking demo conducted by YouTuber and certified ketogenic coach, Julie Mokhtar @KetoJules 2) Engaged in a group discussion, participants explored tech habits they’d like to start, stop, and continue 3) Attendees were given the option to place their devices in the provided box throughout the duration of the retreat 4) Learning about Google’s Wellbeing tools, and tips to achieving better balance. 

Joan Low, founder of ThoughtFull, a mission-led business focused on mental health, and facilitator at the retreat shared the following:

“In a world where technology is now an extension of our lives and the boundaries between online and offline is more fluid, building good digital habits is ever more important.

We often bring the emotions that are triggered online, by social media posts or emails that we read, into our offline world as well. This inability to separate the two worlds may lead to undue stress and anxiety unto oneself and those around us.

It is thus important to not only equip ourselves with tools to physically disengage from our devices (Ie: do not disturb timers), but also to train our mental resilience – either with a mental coach or online exercises – to learn how to disengage mentally and not allow our online triggers to affect our offline realities too.”

Joan got participants thinking about the impact of their online activities on their thoughts, feelings, and actions long after they’re off it.

Dominic Aw, a certified Ishayas’ Ascension Meditation teacher who conducted a session on the importance of unplugging from tech in the path towards enjoying life in the present moment, had this to say:

“Many go through their day unaware of how and why their use of social media or devices affect their peace with mind, joy, contentment and even creativity which flow naturally in life.

I hope my session gave them (the participants) an awareness of the present moment, their inner experience, and an understanding of how their online habits take them away from the present moment.  With this, I hope they can then make the choice to unplug and use tools such as meditation to bring them to the present moment and positively change their experience of life.”

In his session, Dominic guided participants through exercises on how to recognize, identify, and keep track of thoughts – sharing the importance of meditation in maintaining wellbeing.  

Google’s tools for wellbeing

Laura Scott, APAC Communications Manager for Google’s Hardware products who delivered Google’s own tools and features for wellbeing were enthusiastic about sharing and introducing them to local creators and media.

“The idea is to embrace tech in a way that is harmonious with other aspects of our lives. In an age where technology powers most of our lives from the very moment we wake up, we want people to be able to mindfully engage and not miss out on life’s important moments. With tools geared to help people stay focused, minimize distractions, and find balance, we hope that this will spur the conversations that people might have at home or with themselves to take stock of their daily digital habits and how it affects their lives,” said Laura.

Participants were enticed by Laura’s sharing on tech features available to achieve digital wellbeing, and simple actions and tips to gradually enabling better tech-life balance. 

Last month, Google launched a series of experimental appsPost Box, Desert Island, Morph, and We Flip – that help you understand and change your tech usage habits, such as how many times you’ve unlocked your phone in a day, reconfiguring your notifications to be received in bulk, and even challenging you to stick to a limited amount of apps per day.

Through digital wellbeing, Google continues to explore tools and functions that keep people connected to what matters most in their lives.

Learn more about Google’s digital wellbeing tools or download the Digital Wellbeing app from the Google Play Store. For tips on getting started with digital wellbeing, check this article out.

Book launch of a Malaysia author to be held at premier events in two European cities

Book launch of a Malaysia author to be held at premier events in two European cities

Malaysian Datuk Wira Dr Rais Hussin, co-author of a book, 4IR – Reinventing A Nation, has the rare privilege of having his book launched at two premier events in Frankfurt and London within days of each launch.

On Oct 16, Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik will launch the book at the Frankfurt International Book Fair 2019. The four-day event is the most important trade show for books, media and publishing of the year. It will bring forward the novelties in publishing. Over 7,300 exhibitors, 286,000 visitors and nearly 10,000 journalists took part in the previous year.

A day earlier on Oct 15 in London, the book would also be launched at another premier event, the CC Forum London Investment in Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI), which connects global thought leaders, policymakers, investors, blockchain and AI startups from all over the world for a 3-day top content event. 

The Forum is 100% dedicated to blockchain and AI and its revolutionary impact on each sphere of human activities.    

Dr Rais Hussin is an avid fan of frontier technologies like AI, Blockchain, Financial Technology (FinTech), and Internet of Things (IoT), and is very passionate when he talks about how these technologies will bring about disruptive changes to the whole landscape on how we go about doing things presently. 

Currently, he is the President/CEO of EMIR Research that specialises in data-driven research on any given national or international issues. He also serves as Co-Chairman of Deutsche Malaysia Ventures, which he co-founded to promote inbound investment, technology and execution for high-tech, high-value projects in Malaysia and the exciting growth markets of the ASEAN economic zone. 

Together with renowned author Dinis Guarda who is an author, speaker, serial entrepreneur and experienced CEO, Dr Rais Hussin has co-written the book which is an eye-opener for anyone especially policymakers and politicians who have the interest of the nation at heart. 

This is because for nations to fully embrace digital transformation brought about by the convergence of these frontier technologies via their interoperability with one another, the framework of government needs to adapt to innovations such as the Blockchain which promotes a more decentralised society. 

There is no doubt at all, as this book will show you with many examples, that digital transformation, especially in the form of 4.0 Industrial Revolution, presents both challenges and opportunities. 

As argued and elucidated in this book, for the first time in history, we could perhaps witness the emergence of an epoch where nations will be reinvented by the citizens who succeed in the early adaptation and adoption of these frontier technologies, rather than their leaders. 

In their quote that appears at the beginning of the book, the authors succinctly say: “The next 10 to 50 years will be the most disruptive in the history of humanity, and nations and all of us need to be prepared, learn, re-skill and walk the talk. 

“This book is for our children, families and nations and you, to show that there are a lot of ways to make the world, nations a better place. To create a narrative where we and you, tell and are leading the story.” 

For more information, the media is advised to contact EMIR Research’s Director for Media and Communications, Jamari Mohtar at [email protected] You can also reach him at 03 – 2775 9508.


 

Details of the Book 

Title: 4IR – REINVENTING A NATION
Authors: Dinis Guarda Rais Hussin
Pages: 366
Price: Paperback RM69.90 (USD20.00) Hardcover RM89.90 (USD30.00)
Foreword: Eric Van der Kleij, CEO of the Frontier Network & Founder of World Renowned FinTech, Hub Level 39
Special Contributors: Emmanuel Daniel, Guenther Dobrauz Saldapenna, Yoshiyuki Yamamoto, Efi Pylarinou, Thomas Power, Maria Fonseca, Anca Petre & Dr Margarita Peredaryenko
Collaborators: Michael DaCosta Babb, Hernaldo Turrillo & Javed Khattak
Publisher: EMIR Research, 2019

Rais Hussin

Dr Rais Hussin is an avid strategist, perennial wordsmith, social engineer, accountable entrepreneur and serious policy intellectual. He is currently the President/CEO of EMIR Research that specialises in data-driven research on any given national or international issues. Dr Rais also serves as Co-Chairman of Deutsche Malaysia Ventures, which he co-founded to promote inbound investment, technology and execution for high-tech, high-value projects in Malaysia and the exciting growth markets of the ASEAN economic zone. 

Among the issues that fascinate him are those related to disruptive change, big data, the wide use of apps driven economy, algorithms and artificial intelligence. The consistency of these beliefs has led him to be one of the key speakers in Malaysia and international circuits. Straddling between science, strategy, communication and policy advice, Dr Rais has sought to convince all governments to adopt a private-public partnership, as advocated by World Bank, to resolve any market breakdown or conundrums. 

Dinis Guarda 

Dinis Guarda is an author, speaker, serial entrepreneur, advisor and experienced CEO. Dinis is the author of the books, How Businesses and Governments can Prosper with FinTech, Blockchain and AI?, Blockchain, AI and Crypto Economics – The Next Tsunami? and Tokenomics and ICOs – How to be good at the new digitalME world of finance/crypto, among others. 

He is listed in various global FinTech, Blockchain, AI, social media industry top lists as an influencer in position top 5/10/20 within global first 100 rankings: such as Top People in Blockchain by Cointelegraph and The Artificial Intelligence Power 100. 

Dinis is the founder/CEO of ztudium that manages blocksdna / intelligenthq.com / openbusinesscouncil.org / lifesdna. He is also the co-founder of FashionAbc – a leading fashion blockchain AI directory and DragonBloc. 

About EMIR Research

EMIR Research (emirresearch.com) was established in pursuit of a better Malaysia via Engagement, Moderation, Innovation and Rigour. Our primary aims are to produce data-driven research aimed at informing dynamic and effective public policy. 

About ztudium 

Ztudium (ztudium.com) is the creator of research and cutting-edge technologies for the future presents challenges and opportunities that come with the emergence of 4IR technologies. ztudium builds proprietary leading platforms, software products for businesses and governments’ big problems of our time.

The world’s lightest 15-inch laptop

The world’s lightest 15-inch laptop

Petaling Jaya, 20 December 2018 – Acer Malaysia today wrapped up an incredible 2018 by previewing the world’s lightest 15-inch laptop as well as unveiling a host of other laptops, desktop and monitors just ahead of the season of giving.

The introduction of the Acer Swift 5 and Swift 3 expands the immensely well-received Swift series which is designed for users who want superb portability, solid performance and a touch of style. The Acer Aspire 5 is ideal for families and users who need a powerful, function-rich notebook for media consumption. The youngest sibling in the Orion family, the Predator Orion 3000 is a mid-range gaming desktop perfect for gamers looking for performance and style. Also unveiled were two 31.5-inch monitors designed for both gamers and multimedia consumers.

Acer Swift 5 – The World’s Lightest 15-inch Laptop

Users who are seeking a sub-1kg 15-inch laptop, rejoice! The new generation Acer Swift 5 pushes the design limit of a 15-inch laptop to weigh in at an incredible 990g. Measuring 15.9 mm thin the Acer Swift 5 is constructed with ultra-light magnesium-lithium alloys for the top and bottom covers and magnesium-aluminum alloys for extra sturdiness on the palm rest area. This design creates a strong yet exceptionally lightweight Swift 5! It is designed for users who want superb portability, solid performance and a touch of style.

This elegant and durable Acer Swift 5 is highly acclaimed for its fast and responsive system and capability to run multiple tasks simultaneously. With up to 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD, it delivers a 30X faster response time than a regular HDD. Security is made easy by the password-free Windows Hello with Fingerprint Reader!

With a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS touch display, the Swift 5 features ultra-narrow bezels measuring just 5.87mm to give it an incredible 87.6% screen-to-body ratio that maximizes viewing experience. It provides amazingly accurate colors and increased clarity with 100% sRGB and 300 nits of brightness. It also features patented Acer Color IntelligenceTM technology, which optimizes screen color and brightness without clipping or over saturation in real time, and Acer BluelightShieldTM technology which allows adjusting of the screen’s blue-light emission over extended periods of use for eye protection and comfort.

With a battery life of up to 10 hours, Acer Swift 5 is designed to be the performance companion for the entire day, tackling countless tasks and meetings without constraints of cables or power sockets.

The Acer Swift 5 will be available in charcoal blue and steel gray in Malaysia soon.

Acer Swift 5 – The World’s Lightest 15-inch Laptop

Acer Swift 3 – Ultrathin Stylish Laptop With Maximized Performance

With an ultrathin design measuring just 14.9mm, the Acer Swift 3’s light 1.35kg weight makes it easy to carry around. Its sleek aluminium body is cool to the touch and gives this laptop a sense of personality. The new Acer Swift 3 is powered by the latest 8th Gen Intel® quad-core processor for the most complex of tasks. With a dedicated NVIDIA® GeForce® MX150 graphics card onboard, users can further maximise its powerful performance to play games, edit photos or videos and take on graphic-related work and play that are the necessities of modern lifestyles.

Thanks to IPS technology that offers vivid colors at up to 178° wide viewing angle and its lay-flat 180° feature, the Acer Swift 3 makes the sharing of viewing on the 14-inch Full HD narrow bezel display with friends, easy. The Acer Color IntelligenceTM optimizes screen color and brightness without over saturation, while Acer BluelightShieldTM technology protects the eyes over long usage period.

Acer Swift 3 supports up to 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD and up to 8GB onboard DDR4 to provide quick and efficient performance. It is also equipped with a USB Type-C connector port and USB 3.0 that supports power-off USB charging. Connectivity is made fast with 2×2 802.11ac Gigabit Wi-Fi or 4G LTE platforms that ensures signal remains strong and consistent.

Available with Intel® CoreTM i5 with 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD and Intel® CoreTM i7 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD with NVIDIA® GeForce® MX150 Graphics, the Acer Swift 3 is priced at RM3,599 and RM4,399 respectively. Both variants are available for purchase immediately at Acer official online stores and authorized resellers nationwide.

Acer Swift 3 – Ultrathin Stylish Laptop With Maximized Performance

Acer Aspire 5 – Powerful, Everyday Computing

Ideal for families and users who need a powerful, function-rich notebook for media consumption, the Acer Aspire 5 is delightfully slim at 17.9 mm thin and light at 1.8kg for a 15.6-inch laptop – It certainly offers both looks and mobility! The hairline brushed pattern provides an exquisite, tactile finish, accenting the premium aluminum cover in the colours of pure silver, lava red or obsidian black, so users can travel with ease and look great doing so.

Available with up to 8th Gen Intel® CoreTM i7 processor, the Acer Aspire 5 delivers excellent performance. This is brought a notch up with an NVIDIA® GeForce® MX150 graphics card that provides up to 4X faster performance compared to integrated graphics cards. With the integrated Gigabit Wi-Fi wireless technology and strategic antenna placement, experience up to 2 times faster wireless performance than previous 2×2 802.11ac technology. Blazing fast connectivity is indeed here with the Acer Aspire 5!

The narrow 7.82 mm bezel design offers more real estate for amazing images and video. With a 15.6- inch Full HD IPS display and Acer Color Intelligence, crisp, true-to-life colors come alive. Users can adjust gamma and saturation in real-time, optimizing screen color and brightness without clipping. On top of computing performance, Acer TrueHarmonyTM Audio brings sounds to life.

Acer Aspire 5 now also offers better experience; the Windows Precision Touchpad is more responsive than traditional touchpads, enabling more effective work. Cortana compatibility is yet another powerful feature that gives freedom of voice control. Meanwhile, the Skype Certified for Business means you can use cutting-edge audio and video technology when sharing news with family members or hosting international conferences.

The pure silver, lava red and obsidian black color Acer Aspire 5 available in Intel® CoreTM i5 is priced at RM2,699 while the higher speed obsidian black Acer Aspire 5 comes with Intel® CoreTM i7 and extra 128GB SSD is priced at RM3,599. Both variants are available for purchase immediately at Acer official online stores and authorized resellers nationwide.

Acer Aspire 5 – Powerful, Everyday Computing

Predator Orion 3000 – Powerful, Everyday Computing At Your Side

A member of the Predator Orion family, Predator Orion 3000 features the same attractive design language as its bigger siblings, RGB lighting, sleek lines, blue accents and built-in headset cradles. Excellent cooling solution is achieved with a front-facing intake LED fan, mesh cover and rear exhaust for optimized air flow throughout the chassis.

With up to 8th Gen Intel® CoreTM i7 processor and NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 graphics card, upgradable to NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2070, the VR-ready Predator Orion 3000 supports 4K gameplay as gamers take aim at opponents on the battlefield with crystal clarity. Like the Predator Orion 5000 series, the Predator Orion 3000 can be configured with up to 32GB Intel® OptaneTM memory or 512GB PCIe SSD to

Predator Orion 3000 – Powerful, Everyday Computing At Your Side

Acer ED323QURA Gaming Monitor

Joining the line-up of displays from Acer is the new and bigger Acer ED323QURA monitor that features a 31.5-inch VA curved 16:9 screen with WQHD 2560 x 1440 (2K) resolution display. With a 1800R curvature, it provides an immersive experience with a wider field of view and increased perceived area of peripheral vision compared to a flat display. It also comes with a wide viewing angle of up to 178° that enables all users to enjoy stunning images from every angle.

With AMD Radeon FreeSyncTM technology, the ED323QURA monitor supports up to 144Hz refresh rate and 4ms response time to offer smooth gaming experience by eliminating screen tearing and minimizing lag and latency. The monitor supports DVI (Dual Link), HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort and is ideal for entry- level gaming and home entertaining.

The monitor can be tilted from -5° to 15° for comfortable viewing position. With Acer VisionCareTM and ComfyView display, Flicker-less, BluelightShieldTM and low dimming technology, the Acer ED323QURA monitor protects from eye strain and provides a more comfortable viewing experience.

Priced at RM1,499, the Acer ED323QURA will be available immediately at all Acer official online stores and authorized resellers nationwide.

Acer ED323QURA Gaming Monitor

Acer ET322QK Professional 4K UHD Monitor

Featuring a 31.5-inch 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) display with IPS technology, the HDR-ready Acer ET322QK is designed for vivid and accurate visual experience. The 4K2K UHD with 4X 1080p resolution presents sharp visuals that are more stunning and high quality. With the AMD FreeSync technology via DisplayPort and HDMI, the monitor’s frames are synced with the graphics card’s frames, eliminating screen tearing and delivering smooth gaming experience.

The Acer ET322QK has wide color gamut technology to deliver 100% sRGB color coverage for presenting real, natural colors that are consistent across all applications and making it suitable for print-related works. The monitor uses a unique form of 6-axis color adjustment to allow users adjust the axis range from R, G, B, to C, M and Y, enabling users to adjust the monitor’s colors to their professional needs.

A wide 178° viewing angle provides viewers with perfect color regardless of position. It is also packed with the eye-protecting technologies of Flicker-less, BluelightShieldTM, ComfyView and low dimming to ensure no eye strain even during long viewing.

Priced at RM1,499, the Acer ET322QK will be available immediately at all Acer official online stores and authorized resellers nationwide.

Acer ET322QK Professional 4K UHD Monitor

TravelMate X514 – Super lightweight and thin laptop for professionals who mean business

Available in three variants of 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD or 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD in the 8th Gen Intel® CoreTM i5 option and 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD in the 8th Gen Intel® CoreTM i7, the 8GB DDR4 onboard memory TravelMate X514 is built for professionals who expect uncompromised productivity from their device. With its super light 980g weight, this is also a laptop that is easy to carry around for users to efficiently get work done and enjoy play with no charging necessary thanks to its up to 10-hour battery life.

The industry-grade security ensures that security is not compromised when users are tackling serious workload from anywhere. Hardware-level Trusted Platform Module 2.0 ensures secure authentication and safeguards company data. Windows Hello is activated via the built-in fingerprint reader for easy and secure access with just a fingertip.

Its 14-inch Multi Touch FHD display provide more viewing real estate while a USB 3.1 Type C, two USB 3.0 plus a HDMI ports and 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n wireless LAN supporting 2×2 MU-MIMO technology and Bluetooth enable users to do more.

All variants are shipped with Win10Pro and are available in January 2019 at all Acer official online stores and select authorized resellers nationwide. The TravelMate X514 is priced at RM4,499, RM4,699 and RM5,299 for the CoreTM i5 with 256GB SSD, CoreTM i5 with 512GB SSD and CoreTM i7 with 512GB SSD variants respectively.

TravelMate X514 – Super lightweight and thin laptop for professionals who mean business

For more information please visit Acer Malaysia Facebook or call Acer’s Product Infoline at 1800-88- 1288 (9am – 6pm, Mondays to Fridays).

Rethinking the internet of things

Rethinking the internet of things

by Ken Hu

SHENZHEN – At a telecommunications conference hosted by Huawei late last year, I told a group of senior executives looking for growth opportunities in a saturated market that one billion new mobile subscribers were just waiting for their services. Then, I showed them a photo of a cow.

People took pictures of my presentation with their smartphones. Some chuckled; maybe they thought I was joking. But I was dead serious.

Chinese dairy farmers are already connecting their herds to the Internet. Cows wear collars with wireless sensors that collect biometric data such as body temperature and heart rate. Insights from this information are then used to improve milk production, helping farmers earn an extra $420 per cow each year, and increase overall profits by 50% annually.

For China’s farmers, more data means more money in the bank. But, whether the business is bovines or brain surgery, information always enhances decision-making. That’s why those of us in the telecoms industry believe the world would benefit by reimagining digital connectivity.

Connecting more “things” to the Internet has the potential to increase efficiency, lift productivity, reduce waste, and fuel economic growth. According to a McKinsey Global Institute study, a fully networked Internet of Things (IoT) could add up to $11 trillion to the global economy every year by 2025. Realizing these benefits, however, will require changes in how data are delivered and managed.

Today’s broadband networks were built to serve people; they are used to make phone calls, chat by video, surf the web, and play online games. While these applications are important, they are fairly limited in scope.

Scenarios for connecting things are much more diverse. For example, a networked shipping container crossing the ocean must have extended wireless range, but it doesn’t need super-fast response speeds. The opposite is true for virtual reality headsets, which require an ultra-low delay, or latency, to give viewers an immersive experience. By 2025, the world will have some 100 billion connected devices, and to derive maximum value from these linkages, we will need to optimize our networks for things as well as people.

The first step in doing that is ensuring that future networks have enough bandwidth to handle applications like high-definition video, which will soon account for the majority of user traffic. A particular challenge will be upgrading systems to handle industrial video, which is fast becoming integral to modern manufacturing. For example, chip foundries use machine vision to check integrated circuits for microscopic defects, a process that requires extraordinarily high resolution. To transmit this information, cameras need bandwidths of up to ten gigabits per second, and a single factory may have 1,000 cameras running simultaneously.

Second, when it comes to data latency, today’s networks are designed for human perception, which tolerates a fairly high degree of delay. On a phone call, for example, a 50-millisecond wait is imperceptible to the human brain. Power grids, on the other hand, need a consistent latency of 20 milliseconds or less. To support connected grids, “smart” robots, and other machines, next-generation networks will need to be faster and have an even greater capacity.

Third, the networks of tomorrow will need to be automated, self-optimizing, and self-repairing. Artificial intelligence will allow basic network functions to be placed on autopilot, and simple economics will make this a necessity. Once the IoT is supporting billions of connections among cars, trains, factories, and hospitals, operating costs will skyrocket unless networks can be maintained with little human intervention.

And finally, to bring the IoT to life, policymakers will need to support the development of advanced networks that can transmit larger volumes of data faster. In particular, the wireless spectrum – airwaves across which data travel invisibly to and from connected devices – will form the basis of many digital services. But spectrum, just like water and oil, is a limited resource. Most countries will need to release more spectrum space for wireless communications, increasing usable airwaves by anywhere from 50% to 100%.

Every business in every industry can benefit from these advances. New connections will deliver value to entrepreneurs, societies, and economies, allowing people to manage assets better and make more fully informed decisions. But to realize this future, we must begin thinking differently about how networks and business models interact. After all, in a world of deepening connections, everything is a potential new subscriber.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2016.
www.project-syndicate.org