The emerging components driving Industry 4.0 are gaining traction, with the backbone of network-readiness and 5G enablement driving the dialogue on whether these new technology trends and components such as Web3, blockchain, and the metaverse can actually be supported.

Anthony Goonetilleke, Amdocs Group President and author of a report on the state of the digital divide, explained to SDxCentral that the company has been involved from the “early days” in examining Web3, metaverse, and blockchain to see what would “really kick off.”

Goonetilleke believes “the next five years are going to completely democratize technology.” Big tech companies may not be going anywhere, “but the way they operate and function will change," he said.

However, if Industry 4.0 is going to be fully realized, Goonetilleke believes broadband and 5G needs to be seen as a basic necessity – like electricity and running water – before racing into new technological fronts that continue to leave groups further behind.

“The future is a world of ubiquitous connectivity, but not just: I have ubiquitous connectivity because I can afford it, you know. It's for everybody, right? It's for society.”

Goonetilleke looks at the historically high cost of capital investment for fiber rollouts as the main deterring factor behind rural broadband development.

But with wireless methods like 5G,  he said, “That’s a way potentially we can start to bridge this gap." His stance is backed by panelists at the Mobile World Congress Las Vegas panel “Wireless for Good,” who discussed that while fiber may be the primary method in the eyes of operators, the wireless industry has a unique role to play in connecting underserved communities.

“Rural [development] was always a problem, and we always gave ourselves an excuse, right? We said, well, it's far away. There's not a lot of people. It costs a lot of money,” he explained.

“But how can I excuse myself when there's a 10-year-old kid sitting outside of Starbucks in a city like Dallas because he doesn't have connectivity in his house? What's my excuse there?”

One finding in Goonetilleke’s report revealed 62% of respondents said they have issues connecting, despite two thirds of them living in areas deemed to have “reliable” coverage.

Goonetilleke says without that reliable access, children may not be able to do homework and may even be held back in very formative years. “The consequences of that are vast.”

According to Goonetilleke, COVID-19 accelerated the “human behavior” shift of adopting technology use in more everyday uses.

“Technology was already accelerating at the speed of light. We already know this, Moore's law … no one ever questioned it, but human behavior never changed, right?”

But the pandemic catalyzed the fundamental behavioral shift of embracing connectivity as omnipresent means for communication, exchange, and livelihood.

“Broadband went from ‘nice to have’ to the top of Maslow’s Pyramid,” remarked Goonetilleke. “We all knew that not having connectivity was a problem before, but now it’s become a non-negotiable.”

Yet while the behavioral shift led to accelerated adoption of online connectivity, it didn’t bring everyone with it. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act providing $65 billion to broadband evidences the government “playing catch up,” as Goonetilleke puts it.

“Technology is moving so fast,” and in order for people to not be left behind in its wake, the private and public sector will need to work together to make connectivity a basic household commodity akin to running water.

According to Goonetilleke, the work “cannot just be a government thing … private enterprises need to step up.”

While he believes “it’s hard to create regulation that doesn’t stifle innovation,” it will be extremely important that the government and public sector players create a framework to incentivize competition within the private sector.

“At the end of the day, there is money to be made. People make money out of Section 8 housing,” Goonetilleke explained, but stepping up will require shifting the dialogue around connectivity from pay-to-play to a basic necessity.