Attending the inaugural Inmarsat developer conference this week, CBR had the chance to talk briefly to Ian Kennedy, Systems Engineering, Cisco.
Asked to comment on the future of Wi-Fi and its possible obsolescence in the face of technology such as WiGig or Zigbee, Ian affirmed his belief in its longevity and ability to adapt.
"Who knows what’s going to be invented. But from the Wi-Fi perspective, we’re continuing to see developments in speed, in performance of the radio channels…"
He mentioned a few possible areas where Wi-Fi might be activated in coming years, suggesting that we would see new applications in familiar areas.
But connectivity is also continuing its inexorable spread to new areas, and there is no doubt that internet access will soon be almost universal. Inmarsat’s David Schoen, explained how the company’s new GX technology would be used to connect hitherto remote areas such as ships and airplanes. As David said, ‘the possibilities are endless’.
With internet access now taken for granted by most people in developed countries, and the internet having been declared a human right by the UN, I asked Ian what future role the state might take in its spread. Ian believes that state control (or lack thereof) of the internet would be an increasingly important point for discussion in the near future.
"What we’ve got to do is make sure that we create a secure and accessible internet that isn’t tightly and massively controlled by the state but is in some way moderated…people will debate whether it should be a completely open environment."
