A connectivity evolution of WiFi, high-speed cable broadband, and fiber technologies could transform the near-term future of communications even as the 5G revolution is being touted as the next big leap forward.
That is one of the main takeaways from a new report from McKinsey & Co.
While 5G will obviously be transformative, the report says that tech is not being deployed in isolation and takes a more "expansive" view of connectivity that looks at other technologies.
"Despite the hype about remote surgery and Star Trek–style holodecks in everyone’s living rooms, the future is not solely happening on the [high-band 5G] frontier," it concludes.
Looking at deployments of new communications tech for mobility, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail, use cases could boost worldwide GDP $1.2 trillion to $2 trillion by 2030 for those four sectors alone.
It suggests that value can be captured with technologies that have been available for some time and by lighting up the current connectivity "dark gaps" that will yield billions of new online users.
The report gives a shout-out to Docsis 3.x, which it said promises to bring cable broadband performance closer to fiber over existing infrastructure, with WiFi improving last-mile speeds.
