The World of Technology in 2019: 5G, AI and Greater Freedom

While listing the changes which will have the greatest impact on the society in the immediate future, specialists single out fast developing technologies of artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality and 5G communication. Since the launch of the first 5G base stations in Vilnius last year, Lithuania has been driving first class global communication technology, Andrius Šemeškevičius, Head of Technology at Telia Lietuva, said. But that is not all - this year is to bring the new WiFi standard, quick operation of 10 Gbps for optical fibres, as well as new cyber security challenges.

The Age of 5G Started

The need for a new generation communication evolves from the necessity to expand the possibilities and their accessibility to people. As can be seen, this is much appreciated by users: in a few recent years, the amount of mobile data used by the Lithuanians increased by about 70-80% annually and this pace has not slowed down. According to estimates, in 2025, one Telia Lietuva mobile connection client will download about 98 GB of data per month. The number of devices connected to the internet has been tremendously growing: as early as next year, over 50 billion devices will be connected to the network. Thus communications operators have no choice but to adjust and prepare for the mobile future.

1 Gbps and higher data transfer rate, lag undetectable by a human, greater security and reliability - 5G can promise all of that. However, communication would be worthless without 5 G devices designed for individual people and for business. For this reason, 5G supporting gadgets are said to appear on the market this year - first of all, home and office routers for a competitive price are much expected. Interestingly, though the first 5G supporting smart phones are to emerge in the market as soon as the first half-year of 2019, 5G communication will not be relevant for at least a few years, since the needs of private consumers will be completely satisfied by the fully developed 4G technology.

Cables Under the Ground but Not Buried

Fibre optic internet providers are up and doing. For instance, NTCA, the US internet and television association, along with the communications service providers of other continents have announced an initiative with a provocative name - 10G. However, whereas 5G means a new generation of mobile network technology, 10G implies a specific parameter of the internet which reaches people through cables, namely, at the rate of 10 Gbps and higher. Presently the speed of 1 Gbps is offered for homes equipped with fibre optics, thus there are plans to tenfold this rate in the coming years. Attempts have already been made and still continue, and we hope to offer this service to consumers in the coming years.

One more important change for home internet users is that the sixth generation WiFi with a code name 802.11ax is planned to be certified this year. Just like the currently used 802.11ac standard in new routes, it will use 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies and will also add frequency bands from 1 GHz and 7 GHz spectrum and will feature other improvements. All this will allow users to reach the speed of several or even a dozen of gigabytes per second in a PC or any other device at home via WiFi. The first routers to support this standard were presented in the technology exhibition CES 2019 which took place in Las Vegas last week.

'With new, improved technology evolving, the old ones are gradually refused. In the field of mobile communication, 3G is the first to face this fate - Telia Lietuva started moving its frequencies to 4G last year thus improving the quality and speed of connection even more. We do not plan to completely turn down 3G this year, but it is only a matter of time. In fact, we have been burying cable phones; their lines are used for the provision of DSL service which will not be ceased. Its latest improvement - S-VDSL technology - allows reaching the speed of up to 250 megabytes per second under appropriate technical conditions, which is similar to the speed of fibre optics, Mr Šemeškevičius noted.

He added that cable internet connection is of high quality, reliable and can offer guaranteed speed, meanwhile, fibre optic communication is generally the basis of all modern-day communication networks, including mobile ones; it connects all mobile communication base stations.

Hackers Take no Rest

The increasing number of devices connected to the internet and the rate of data transfer has made it increasingly difficult to contain cyber threats; besides, the level of complexity of cyber threats keeps rising on a yearly basis. For this reason, individuals and enterprises choose services with integrated solutions: cloud security, email with spam and malware filters, internet with anti-virus, etc.

'The major challenge in this field is faced by service providers since the width of attacks has been growing, they have become complex, all available means are availed of. What does that mean? Hackers look for and make use of all possible ways to get some benefit or, more specifically, money, regardless of whether these are details for logging in to e-banking of a credulous person, or a ransom paid by a company in exchange to decryption of data hackers had encrypted, or money obtained by intimidation or received through blackmail. Naturally, cyber security companies have been increasingly reliant on AI and machine learning (ML) algorithms, which, in principle, replace people to some extent,' Mr Šemeškevičius, Head of Technology at Telia Lietuva, commented.

The fact that nothing can be 100% secure, and that the number of cyber-attacks and their effect practically doubles annually, is evident from this chart.

Freedom, Quality and New Hobbies

Not only technology but also rules and regulations have been changing and people can feel that directly. Lithuanians, just like other Europeans, have been travelling in the EU countries for over 18 months since the decision allowing to make phone calls, send text messages and browse the internet for the same price as charged 'at home' was adopted. This change has led to a huge increase in people's appetite for mobile data - now Telia Lietuva customers alone use as many as 14 times more data in other EU countries than before the entry into force of the regulation Roam Like at Home. Mobile browsing friendly conditions are provided also in non-EU foreign countries; use of data in such countries has been growing in a similar pace.

2019 is to see one more change which is beneficial for people: following the EU directives, in May, private clients calling from a cable phone or a mobile phone will be charged considerably lower prices for international phone calls. In other words, we will be able to call cheaper not only while abroad but also from Lithuania to other EU countries. It is estimated that the maximum price for a phone call to other EU countries will not exceed EUR 0.19/min; meanwhile, the price for SMS will reduce to EUR 0.06 (excl. VAT).

Yet, another change which might have been already noticed by people, is the growing supply of legitimate and quality content, high resolution (HD) image and the possibility to watch smart TV anywhere using mobile broadband. The year 2019 will be no exception: more content will be offered to TV viewers, it is expected that 4K resolution films and series will be offered, much focus and effort will be given to niche type broadcasts. One of the global trends which has not yet come to Lithuania is mobile TV, watching of sports matches and other livestream videos; this need is seen and this year might become the turning point.

Actually, with regard to sports and niche content - in addition to standard sports, such as basketball, football, ice skating or swimming, e-sports matches, during which cyber-athletes compete by playing computer games, such as Dota 2, League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, etc. receive increasingly much attention.

This is only part of what can be expected from communication operators and technology companies this year. We will see which forecasts will become true, and which ones will need some more time at the end of 2019.