Track: Programmable Real-Time Networks |
| Network “biodiversity” – why visions of 5G ubiquity & monoculture miss the mark |
| Nature abhors monocultures. They're risky and vulnerable. The impact of any catastrophic risk is magnified hugely. They are susceptible to parasites, infections or natural disasters. They can also monopolise resources, driving out other creatures and limiting the potential for further evolution. Biodiversity helps resilience and also leads to amazing “generativity”, as new species – and new interactions between species – enriches the wider environment, as well as long-term evolution. The same applies to technology monocultures – and in this case, wireless connectivity. Listening to some commentators – especially if they’re aiming at radio spectrum rights or government subsidies – you could imagine that 3GPP’s 5G technology could run the whole world, from the phones, to home appliances, to factory automation systems. Yet not only is that improbable, the vision and hype itself risks crowding out competing and interacting technologies, each with strengths and weaknesses. 5G, 4G, Wi-Fi, satellite connectivity, Bluetooth, LoRa, Thread, free-space optics and a plethora of others are all relevant both to users and to help maintain a strong and rich ecology of "network diversity". Sometimes these alternatives can be combined, other times it makes sense to have independent systems. Users, policymakers, vendors, investors and academics should be wary of the elegant – but flawed – concept of the “5G monoculture”. |
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| Presentation Video |
