You’ve probably heard about this metaverse thing: A virtual or mixed reality world where we will be able to be whoever, go wherever, and interact with anyone we want (and in whatever way we want). But while the metaverse might not be “real,” its physical requirements certainly will be and the metaverse infrastructure needed to run it doesn’t come up in demos but it’s real and your virtual life depends on it.

“Any technological advancement takes time, particularly one that requires network resources,” said Andrew Bennett, AVP of mass markets at AT&T. “Trucks need to roll, shovels need to hit dirt, investments need to be made. It’s just a massive undertaking.”

But What Is the Metaverse Really?

The metaverse market was estimated to be worth roughly $62 billion in 2022, and that is anticipated to rise to nearly $427 billion by 2027 — a stunning compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 50%. And, Meta — which ignited discussion of the metaverse in both boardrooms and living rooms — is spending an astounding $1 billion a month on the metaverse.

Still, it remains an intangible, “out there” concept — the what, where, when, and how are up for lingering discussion.

Gartner, for one, defines the metaverse as “an immersive digital environment of independent, yet interconnected networks that will use emerging protocols for communications. It enables persistent, decentralized, collaborative, interoperable digital content that intersects with the physical world’s real-time, spatially indexed and organized content.”

Put more simply: “The metaverse is an evolution of the internet — full stop,” said Gartner director analyst Tuong Nguyen.

There are many ideas, definitions, and perspectives on what exactly it will be and how it will play out; but based on his many conversations on the topic, Nguyen said that 90 to 95% of informed people agree on the concept. The disagreements come down to semantics — think of it like when a family is planning a vacation, but members haven’t yet reached a consensus on the details or location.

Certainly, there are glimpses and stepping stones, but, “we don’t have the metaverse today,” said Nguyen, positing: “When did you become an adult? There’s no one point in time. It’s an evolution.”

A Slow but Steady Race to the Metaverse

Indeed, the metaverse is “still very high-level and conceptual,” Bennett agreed.

There’s great vision casting on where it could be, he said, pointing to SnapChat as a rudimentary example of the metaverse.

“Could we someday live in the world of Ready Player 1? Yes, we could,” he said. “Will I see that in my lifetime? I’m not sure.”

Like Nguyen, he called it evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Someday, people will regularly interact with the metaverse via headsets or other wearable tech, but it will come down to “slowly but surely allowing extended reality into our lives.”

Metaverse Infrastructure: 5G, Fiber Networks, Device Compatibility

The criticality in realizing the metaverse infrastructure: 5G, said Bennett, who spoke on the topic of metaverse infrastructure at the recent Immerse Global Summit.

“It’s bandwidth, but it’s also the speed and latency required to make these experiences actually possible,” he said.

But, we’re still in the “early innings of 5G,” with the industry having just really begun to roll it out large-scale within the last two years, he pointed out.

Edge computing will be central to the metaverse, as the speed and latency of compute at the edge is far greater, he said. Also, the building out of fiber networks is critical for in-home experiences.

Then there’s the device perspective; the changeout of consumer devices is happening at a record pace. People will want to access the metaverse from a number of devices, and those must be 5G (or greater) compatible.

“Who knows where the wearable ecosystem goes,” he said.

For example, every morning he uses an Oculus for VR-assisted meditation, he said. “But it would be reckless to get in the car with that on my face.”

Ultimately, it all comes down to time and cultural acceptance — consumers and businesses alike will need to see the value and make the investment.

“Once you get that critical mass in terms of customer and network, then the ecosystem has the opportunity to really expand,” said Bennett.

Building on Existing Infrastructure

What are the physical requirements of the metaverse? It’s a big answer, said Nguyen.

Some infrastructure — that is, the internet — is already here. And we already have a digital-only world; spatial computing will be critical for building the digital world on top of the physical one.

For example, if you Google something when planning a trip, you don’t need immediate answers. But if you’re walking around a city street and trying to determine the nearest subway or bathroom, you need instant capabilities. If there’s a millisecond delay, you might have already walked two blocks in the wrong direction.

“I need to know what’s in front of me, not what’s behind me,” said Nguyen.

Right now, infrastructure is designed for centralized compute and centralized storage. That needs to start moving to the edge and peer-to-peer networks to allow for more bandwidth and lower latency, he said.

And, local connectivity means improved 5G, WiFi, and Bluetooth capabilities.

“5G is a start,” he said — 6G will be the next step.

Clearly there will be many other pieces, “some of which we know about, some of which we don’t know about,” said Nguyen.

The Metaverse: ‘Ecosystem for Innovation’

Ultimately, Nguyen said the metaverse will be an “ecosystem for innovation” with no single technology or infrastructure. Just as with the internet, infrastructure requirements will continually evolve.

For example, did the founders and builders of the internet think about mobile phones? Probably not to the degree of the devices that we have in our pockets and purses today — which, he pointed out, are more powerful than anything that was available at the inception of the internet.

“There are many parts of the internet; it will be the same with the metaverse,” said Nguyen, saying it will also be subjective and based on use case.

But one thing’s for sure: “It will change the way we interact with the world around us.”

Bennett agreed that “it feels like possibilities are endless. There are big bold use cases out there that are absolutely helping to be north stars and guides.”

As for the next “killer app”? It could be right in front of us.