Viewpoint Article

By Azfar Aslam, Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, Europe at Nokia

For a long time, industries have been looking for ways to boost productivity, efficiency and resilience, with digitalisation becoming one of the central methods to achieve that. COVID-19 has allowed companies to accelerate their digital transformation journeys, opening up a myriad of opportunities many never thought possible before.

One path many have taken is the adoption of emerging Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) such as artificial intelligence (AI), edge cloud computing and SaaS models. Driven by trends such as environmental sustainability and cybersecurity, this move will allow for more innovative solutions to be born, and, fused with 5G networks, is set to add $8 trillion to the global GDP by 2030.

Whilst most digital industries such as online retail, media and banking have pivoted during COVID, more physical sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, transportation and energy have only scratched the surface of the significant value that digitalisation can  generate in terms of increased safety, productivity and efficiency (SPE).

Luckily, the world is now approaching the ‘big inversion’ – a new ecosystem of 5G and key-related technologies such as edge cloud infrastructure, softwarisation, augmented intelligence/machine learning, as well as advanced sensors and robotics.  Infused with these capabilities that we refer to as 5G+, the Operational Technologies in physical and digital industries will find the necessary solutions to undergo the much needed digital transformation within the next ten years.

As a result, the need for digital skills of the future will become more critical, fuelled by the emerging technologies powering Web3, the cloud and perhaps one of the biggest ICT innovations of all, the Metaverse.

The rise of the Industrial and Enterprise Metaverse

Described as ‘the next evolution in social connection and the successor to the mobile internet’, the Metaverse’s focus to date has been on consumer-led experiences driven by brands’ engagement. However, the biggest and most impactful opportunities will come from other forms of this virtual and augmented environment: the Industrial and Enterprise Metaverse. It is these applications which will allow organisations to blur the lines between physical and digital environments and reshape the world –  referred to as ‘digital twins’.

In practice, this means that projects can take place virtually before being replicated in the real world. For example, using Augmented and Virtual Realities (AR/VR), employees at a factory will be able to design and test equipment before deploying it to a live production line, thus limiting risks and more precisely, predicting production volumes. The current use of 5G+ networks in certain industries is already a great testimony to the further benefits the Industrial and Enterprise Metaverse can bring.

We are already reaping rewards from digitalisation in several industries. An analysis of an iron ore mine in Australia showed that the use of private wireless networks instead of WiFi had seen a 20x reduction in wireless access points and a 4x reduction in the personnel required to maintain sites, bringing annual savings of €70 million. In another case, a farm in the Netherlands deployed a precision farming approach with 5G technologies where an application identified good crops from weeds and remotely triggered automatic spraying to eliminate the weeds. This resulted in a 6.7x increase in productivity, and if the same technology was applied to at least 15% of global farms, would lead to an increase in yields by up to 300 million tonnes and a reduction in water consumption by up to 150 billion cubic meters annually.

Further advancement of the Metaverse and the ability to initiate or replicate projects in the virtual environment will mean less time, lower costs and reduced risks. As mentioned by Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark at Brooklyn summit, take the Brooklyn Bridge as an example – it took 14 years to build, with at least 20 casualties back in the 19th century. If the construction took place today, the approach would be completely different.

Using 3D modelling in the virtual environment, engineers can design construction projects like bridges down to the smallest detail and plot their life cycles up to 100 years in the future. Using the bridge as an example, the Enterprise Metaverse allows project players to co-design and interact with the bridge no matter where they are, providing space for limitless collaboration. Similarly, the Industrial Metaverse allows for sections of the bridge to be prefabricated in factories using AI-powered systems, with production workers ‘operating’ machines through AR and VR tools. Moreover, once the bridge is built, applying sensors to every stress point allows authorities to monitor its condition in real-time and maintain it using drones and robotic technologies. The Brooklyn Bridge of the 21st century could be completed in less than a third of the time, with zero fatalities, and maintained without significant closures and disruption to traffic.

But it’s not just the construction industry that can benefit from the Metaverse. Break-through discoveries in medicine and science will happen at a quicker pace too, allowing for organisations and nations to come together to solve pressing world problems such as finding a cure for cancer or tackling the climate crisis: not just leveraging the power of today’s cloud, but realtime interactions with the genome or climate digital twins from anywhere in the world Clearly, the advantages are numerous. However, in order to allow for a fully immersive experience, there are a few other technology solutions that will need to catch up first.

The connectivity opportunities of the Metaverse

The Metaverse is accessed via smart devices and wearables, which require a high-speed, flexible and stable internet connection. To accommodate this, networks need to make significant advancements in latency, reliability and speed, including retiring or recycling legacy 2G and 3G networks and frequencies in favour of those focused on 5G and 6G.

As we enter a new era of unprecedented immersion and industrial digitalisation, there will be a new level of expectations set for network providers based on the reliability, ubiquity, security and sustainability of the networks they operate on. Whilst consumer adoption will come after several years, we are already seeing industrial and enterprise adoption taking place at a fast pace. To cite an example, IBM already has a digital twin exchange platform that allows organisations to purchase digital twins from their partners. With this in mind, there is a clear argument to move towards a standard of open accessibility for both established and emerging companies looking to improve and grow the potential of the Metaverse.

The launch of 6G networks will finally see the full fusion of our digital and physical lives, which will help companies build the underlying infrastructure of the Metaverse. The development of programmes such as Hexa-X-II, the second phase of European 6G flagship initiative led by the European Commission that will form the basis of 6G standardisation, will also allow organisations to come together and drive future developments in connectivity.

Collaboration is the key to success

The Metaverse economy is predicted to reach over $824 billion by 2030. Organisations investing in this technology now are the ones that will win the initial innovation race. However, the Metaverse can only achieve its full potential if organisations work together to create an open, secure, ecologically sustainable and all-inclusive environment that encourages innovation and translates into value for everyone involved. This will require heavy investment and technology adaptation, sophisticated content creation tools and large servers in order to maintain the stability of the system and create a truly immersive experience.

For this reason alone, the Metaverse can never be solely owned by one person or organisation, and initiatives such as the Metaverse Standards Forum should help drive industry standards of cooperation and openness. Long gone are the days when technology start-ups were able to break through and build their empires on their own. As we move from the 5G to the 6G era, digital transformation will take over every industry through technology collaborations and digital-physical fusion ecosystems.

By 2030, everything taking place in the digital world will affect the physical one and vice versa, and every physical object that can be linked to the digital world will be connected. Whilst many consumers will be looking at Metaverse as a new means to join communities and engaging activities, businesses and entire nations will be using the Industrial and Enterprise Metaverse to boost innovation, collaboration and economy, as well as to create safer and simpler ways of operating highly complex technologies. This is where the Metaverse really does become exciting.

Keep up with all the latest news and views from the telecoms sector with Total Telecom’s daily newsletter

Also in the news:
Regulators set deadline for decision on Orange–VOO tie-up
Virgin Media O2 to create hundreds of apprenticeships roles
Bullish Jansen questions need for choice

Ofcom has today opened an expected consultation into Openreach’s ‘Equinox 2‘ discount scheme, which will further reduce the wholesale prices of their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband products for ISPs and thus consumers. But their “provisional” view is “not intervene“, which is likely to anger alternative networks (AltNets). As we reported at the end of last […]

Mobile operator Vodafone has confirmed that customers using the Notting Hill Gate station on the London Underground have started to receive their ultrafast 5G (mobile broadband) signal. The tunnels from Holland Park to Queensway (Central Line) and Archway to Kentish Town (Northern Line) will follow by the weekend. The move to introduce 5G on the […]

BT’s trading update for the nine months to 31 December 2022 showed a fall in revenues but a massive growth in profit in what the company described as ‘strong performance in tough market conditions.’

Neil Shah, Director of Content and Strategy at Edison Group, reaffirmed BT’s own statement saying “Today’s announcement from BT Group is a welcome one for investors and only just below market expectations. The company reiterated its full-year outlook, despite seeing third-quarter revenues slip by 3% to £5.2bn, with adjusted earnings rising 2% to £2.01bn.”

Post-tax profit grew 49 per cent to £1.3billion for the latter nine months of 2022, although revenue fell 3%. The strong performance was driven on one hand by the formation of a 50-50 JV with Warner Bros. Discovery, boosting the division’s underlying earnings by 15%, and on the other hand by the performance  of the group around fibre-to-the-premises customers.

It was the latter area that prompted Philip Jansen, Chief Executive, to say “On full fibre, we’re building – and now connecting – like fury: 9.6 million premises reached to date, with 29% already connected”.

More controversially he is quoted by the Financial Times as later saying “There is only going to be one national network,” and “Why do you need to have multiple providers?”

It is likely to be these latter comments that will likely draw ire from the likes of CityFibre and VirginMedia O2 as will Jansen’s comment that the market would ultimately be just a “couple of big players” a process that would “end in tears” for many of the other operators.

CityFibre’s Greg Mesch in particular said publicly at Connected Britain in 2019 that “that no one operator can deliver on the UK’s fibre targets alone” and the company has just reported 2022 to be their most productive year ever, with the network footprint increasing 83%. However yesterday CityFibre showed its not all plain sailing, announcing a restructuring process that could result in up to 20% of their 2,000 strong workforce losing their jobs.

Greg Mesch, CityFibre’s CEO stressed the need to take responsible financial and operational decisions saying, “The UK’s economy is struggling, and this is affecting both the market and our customers.”

How many operators can the UK market support? Join the debate around the rollout of fibre networks at our Connected North event in Manchester this April. Find out more here.

Ofcom has today set out their “expectations” for how they want mobile operators – Three UK, Vodafone, EE (BT) and O2 (VMO2 / Virgin Media) – to approach the phased switch-off of legacy 2G and 3G mobile services. The goal being to ensure consumers are “treated fairly” and aren’t left cut-off from vital services. At […]

Press Release

Powered by Intel processors and running on Windows 11 (OS), the interoperability development testing (IoDT) carried out recently at the Ericsson Lab in Sweden showed the use of multiple network slices on cellular-connected laptop devices for consumer and enterprise use cases such as mobile gaming and collaboration applications.

The network slicing trial utilized User Equipment Route Selection Policy (URSP), the capability that enables devices to automatically select between different slices according to which application they are using. It also used Ericsson’s Dynamic Network Slicing Selection, Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core, and Ericsson’s RAN Slicing capabilities to secure end-user service differentiation. Together they deliver the required network capabilities for this solution.

Network slicing has long been seen as vital to capturing the value that a 5G network can provide for communications service providers (CSPs) and enterprises. The market for network slicing alone in the enterprise segment is projected at USD 300 billion by 2025, according to the GSMA. By demonstrating a single Windows 11 device can make use of multiple slices, which are used according to the on-device usage profiles and network policies defined at the CSP level, the partners show the flexibility and range of potential use cases available using this technology.

This trial illustrates the opportunities for 5G monetization beyond smartphone devices and opens the door to a wider 5G device ecosystem, allowing CSPs and other members of the telecoms and IT world to expand their horizons when considering opportunities to generate profitable use cases for 5G. Laptop type devices, in particular, are vital to enterprise productivity. The inclusion of Windows 11 laptops in the ranks of devices that can be used for commercializing 5G network slicing is a sign of the ecosystem maturing. Network slicing capabilities will benefit consumer and enterprise segments by defining specific Service Level Agreement per slice for existing and emerging Windows applications and use cases, such as real-time enterprise applications like Microsoft Teams and Office365, game/media streaming, and emerging AI and augmented reality/extended reality (AR/XR) applications.

Sibel Tombaz, Head of Product Line 5G RAN at Ericsson, says: “Expanding the range of devices for network slicing to include laptops will allow new business segments to create a variety of use cases for consumer and enterprises. We have shown, together with Intel and Microsoft, how ecosystem collaboration can open new possibilities. We will continue to strengthen Ericsson’s network slicing capabilities and work with industry partners to enable more applications on several devices, spreading the benefits of 5G in the consumer and enterprise segments.”

Ian LeGrow, Microsoft Corporate Vice-President of Core OS Innovation says: “We are thrilled to showcase our cutting-edge technology and its ability to deliver fast, dependable and secure 5G connectivity on Windows 11. Partnering with Intel and Ericsson only further solidifies our commitment to innovation and openness in our platform.”

 

News

Hot on the heels of BT announcing an apprentice recruitment drive last week, Virgin Media O2 have revealed that their next generation apprenticeship scheme will create around 350 roles in 2023.

This news comes ahead of National Apprenticeship Week (February 6-12) alongside which VMO2 have commissioned some market research that reveals a lack of understanding from workers about what apprenticeships are and who they are suitable for.

It seems that whilst most people think apprenticeships are a great way to learn new skills whilst getting paid (88%) many are concerned that the roles will be temporary, lacking in job security or only available to the young.

The new roles being offered by Virgin Media O2 are a great example of how this is not the case, offering competitive salaries, the job security of a permanent position and no upper age limit.

As the cost-of-living crisis bights, the research reveals thoughts of retraining are front of mind for many people with as many as 6.5 million workers feeling they are not paid enough in their current role to cover higher bills due to the rise in the cost-of-living. However many are put off by concerns of not having time to retain (28%) as well as the cost (23%).

Head of Future Careers at Virgin Media O2, Karen Handley, commented:
“A retrain revolution is sweeping the UK in these tough times as millions of people across the country worry about their finances and are looking at how they can learn more to earn more and have greater job security but, at the same time, are concerned that training will take too much time or money.”

A quick search on the internet suggests BT and VMO2 are far from being alone in supporting apprenticeship schemes. Companies like CityFibre, Vodafone and many more prominently promoting schemes on their websites, however with a continuing skills crunch holding back technology innovation and deployment in the UK, there is clearly room to do more. The subject will be debated at the Total Telecom Connected North event in Manchester in April, with organisations like the Good Things Foundation and WM5G, UK Telecoms Innovation Network joining the discussion.

The VMO2 research was conducted for them by 3Gem Media Group Ltd and was based on around 2,000 members of the UK Workforce and 250 UK Students.

Total Telecom are proud to support the industry’s development by giving young people the opportunity to meet and engage with the industry. Find out more about this for forthcoming events, Connected North and Submarine Networks EMEA.

The BT Group has today published their latest Q3 FY23 results to December 2022, which saw the coverage of Openreach’s Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network reach 9.57 million premises (up by 810k in the quarter vs 805k last quarter) and EE increase their 5G customer based to 8.5 million (up from 8.157m). As usual, it’s […]

CityFibre has reportedly begun a new restructuring process that could result in the loss of up to 400 jobs out of their 2,000 strong workforce. The operator has blamed this on the UK’s “struggling” economy (i.e. causing rising costs for their business) and the desire to keep their rollout of full fibre gigabit broadband on […]

Broadband ISP, pay TV and mobile operator Virgin Media and O2 (VMO2) has this morning announced that they will create “around” a further 350 new apprenticeship roles across the United Kingdom in 2023, which is up from a commitment of 200 last year. The new positions are being created to cover a variety of different […]