An Outlook on the Future of Communications and Networking: 2030 and beyond

In this talk, we review a sample vision for the future of communications and networking beyond 2030. We envision that the futue of communications is driven by a number of challenges and opportunities. First, given the status quo of 5G depoyments around the world, undergroing 6G extensive research and the growing role for AI, spectrum scarcity presents a major challenge, for future networks, often coined as the “spectrum crisis” looming in different parts of the world, especially leading economies.
On the opportunities side, there are a few emerging technologies that hold a great promise. First, digital quantum transformation is currently undergoing extensive research to address the scalability challenges, among others. Second, wireless communications and networking beyond 2030 is envisioned to be Aritificial General Intelligence (AGI)-native. This, in turn, will allow networks to perceive, learn, reason and adapt in real-time. Finally, immersive technolgies, e.g., virtual, mixed and augmeneted relaity (VR, MR, AR, xR) are envisioned to be a key enabler for future AI-enhanced user interfaces and collaborative communication of user devices with the network.