Despite the prevailing cultural mindset, the future of 3D video technology is certainly not limited to TV entertainment, as companies like Cisco, the world’s largest supplier of IP networking solutions, are looking to utilize the coming advancements in video technology to change not only the way people are entertained, but how they communicate.
Although 3D communications technology is still in the not-so-distant future for business IP systems, it is, for Cisco CEO John Chambers, an inevitability; just a matter of time. It wasn’t too long ago, Chambers notes in an CNET interview with Marguerite Reardon, that voice technology was a standalone service, and now in a matter of years it has become just another application filling Cisco’s IP network solutions, and the same shift in video technology is sure to follow.
But with the age of 3D communications—and Star Trek-like holography technology waiting in line just behind that—the question remains, is the global Internet communication network ready to handle the incredible amount of bandwidth 3D video communication gobbles up? In its current state, absolutely not!
As the communications and IP networking industries continue to push for exponential advancements in communications technology it puts significant demands on broadband networks provided by the likes of Verizon, AT&T, and others, and simply put, no network—in North America at least—is ready for the traffic 3D traffic will generate.
The fact is that regular standard definition television broadcasts consume considerable amounts of bandwidth already, far more than other types of traffic like voice or text; with high-definition television consuming exponentially more. With the advent of 3D entertainment and communications technology the amount of bandwidth consumed by the futuristic service would cripple any current network, and with the fact that 3D tech is probably only a few years away from widespread public consumption means that American broadband providers have little time to catch up.
The problem may be compounded by the likes of Cisco CEO Chambers already looking beyond 3D to futuristic holography technology, something that seems more at home in a Star Trek script than the office. Sure it’s nice to dream, but the Internet as we know it needs a complete overhaul before any of these services can come to fruition.
So before we get ahead of ourselves, perhaps Chambers should slow down the dreaming just a little. Sure 3D communications tech is on the horizon, but I struggle to imagine a conference room full of high-powered business people donning stylish 3D glasses to watch their CEO pop out of a screen on the wall. But maybe that’s just me.
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Written by: Matt Klassen. www.digitcom.ca >. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com > by: RSS >, Twitter >, Identi.ca >, or Friendfeed >
