Top Technology Trends and Predictions for Year 2023

Spotlight on Trends and Predictions | TelecomDrive.com

As we are going into the closing weeks of year 2022, we are presenting the top trends in technology that are going to play a critical role in the coming year 2023. Innovations in the field of telecoms and IT will continue to expand envelope of connectivity and digital transformation across different verticals.

Here is what Anku Jain, Managing Director, MediaTek India is predicting for year 2023:

As we move past the pandemic with more resilience and dynamism, we look for another significant year that is characterized by several technology advancements promising greater value across different chains of processes.

Here’s a glimpse at the top ten tech predictions that will impact our journey in 2023:

1. Semiconductors: Semiconductor tech for smart devices will evolve mostly focusing on the performance-driven applications of the 5G era including high-end gaming and HD video streaming that demand high-performance cores, energy-efficient architecture, as well as enhancements in camera, battery and display technologies.
2. Smart Home: Though we are familiar with a number of devices that make a home smarter, the real ‘smart home’ concept has not gained popularity in India. We expect smart home hub and the connected ecosystem to shape up in modern homes in 2023, driven by wider FTTH penetration and disruptive home networking technologies.
3. Industrial IoT: Applications designed for various industrial scenarios like agriculture, retail, transport and industrial automation will drive the demand for devices like drones, AGVs, industrial cameras, traffic sensors and more. We will also witness the beginning of a new era of industrial automation powered by 5G and complemented by technologies like WiFi6 and Edge.
4. Metaverse: Metaverse, which is perceived as the next version of the Internet, is an emerging trend that has the potential to transform consumer applications such as gaming and shopping as well as build several innovative business applications. It will also make digital currencies like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) popular.
5. AR/VR: Whilst the industry readies for metaverse, augmented reality and virtual reality are expected to achieve a new dimension in 5G era in India. Devices supporting AR and VR are evolving acquiring advanced capabilities such as AI-driven real-time transcription and translation of speech.
6. AI and IoT: The combination of AI and IoT will drive several productivity applications across industries. With AI, enterprise can identify patterns and detect anomalies in IoT applications, thereby reducing or completely eliminating downtime in both mission-critical and non-critical applications.
7. Cloud AI and datafication: The combination of data analytics and AI in cloud will help accelerate the digital journey of organization by increasing automation and enhancing self-learning while also ensuring data security and privacy.
8. WiFi 6E: The Wi-Fi 6 Release 2 brings significant improvements in energy efficiency across smart home and enterprise scenarios. Though the market has very few WiFi 6E-compatible devices at present, they are expected to flourish in 2023.
9. Smart wearables: Smart wearables of 2023 and beyond will comprise not only the hearables and smartwatches, but other wearables like smart patches, smart helmets, and even smart implantables offering much greater functionalities that can help improve our physical and emotional well-being.
10. Device security: As gadgets grow in number and scope performing more serious functions like banking, shopping, work-from-home, health monitoring and asset management, security becomes a major concern. Thus IoT security and mobile device security will gain more attention in the cyber security space.

With another exciting New Year round the corner, we expect that technology will continue to evolve, delivering its contributions to humanity, uplifting underserved communities and empowering the entire citizenry to do more and in a better way.

Here are the predictions for Jay Lee, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer, ATX Networks.

Multi-gigabit services will become standard for MSOs and FTTH providers, but, while speed is impressive, broadband demand is still not ready to catch up to broadband supply. ATX Networks predicts other attributes such as security, reliability, and latency will outrank speed as a criterion for broadband service packages in 2023.

ATX predicts that the economic advantages of DOCSIS 4.0 upgrades compared to fiber overbuilds to meet customer demand will grow even more compelling to MSOs in 2023. While preparing for the technology to be available, MSOs will optimize their DOCSIS 3.1 networks using 1.8GHz high-split amplifiers with 1.2Ghz/1.8GHz dual-mode operation capabilities.

Energy storage technology will finally see advancements over the next year, leading MSOs to pursue alternatives to battery-based standby power solutions to meet sustainability goals and drastically reduce cost. Benefits from tech such as hybrid supercapacitors will prove superior over lead-acid and Lithium-type batteries.
Smart amps will make their debut in 2023, adding automation and control capabilities that eliminate the need for plug-ins and equalizers. Additional intelligence, such as transponders that require investments in back-office software, offers the potential to support remote communications and maintenance, but will add additional costs and complexity.

Labor shortages persist, but relief is on the horizon for cable operators. Initiatives by industry organizations and technology suppliers to augment the labor pool with vocational training programs will make a significant dent in replenishing the cable workforce beginning next year.

Clearfield CMO Kevin Morgan, predicts:

As the market moves from homes passed to homes connected, the need for companies to better manage and integrate their supply chain and own manufacturing process will escalate, creating opportunity for companies that do this well and challenges for companies that cannot.

Any technology that breaks the status quo for how fiber broadband services are delivered, especially those that create abilities to allow operators to streamline the deployment process and accelerate time to market will enable new labor-lite solutions to cross the chasm from early adopters to mainstream, and Main Street, adoption.

We will see workforce development become the Achilles heel for organizations that don’t address this issue for all levels of fiber broadband networks – from deployment to CRM – this is not an opportunity where “if we build it, they will come.” This is something that the company must address, or they will fail.

Companies that take an active approach to workforce development will benefit not only from its ability to help it realize the current market opportunity, but create a generational impact on those they help train to be a part of the fiber broadband industry. The benefits go far beyond the ability to scale but have long-term impact on local and family economics and opportunity. This is an added opportunity to address disparities in the digital divide beyond basic connectivity.

Here is a peak at what Ryan McCowan, Adtran Americas CTO, is predicting for 2023:

Adtran predicts the demand for ubiquitous Wi-Fi will increase over the next year. Subscribers have begun to expect their Wi-Fi to work as seamlessly as electricity, with the ability to turn it on in as many rooms or devices as you would like without impacting performance to the service.

The increased shortage in the fiber workforce is going to be a larger threat to the industry than the supply chain has been over the past several years. Adtran expects vendors to introduce solutions to ease this strain on operators, while the industry continues to train fiber technicians.

A BEAD Halo Effect will begin over the next several months. While many providers are working to build BEAD-funded fiber networks, there will be more inspiration to build broadband networks outside of BEAD-funded areas.

With several new broadband providers entering the market each day, fiber marketing will be crucial to remain competitive. Subscriber insights will be a major key in enabling providers to understand what subscribers need to retain current customers and attract new ones.

Adtran predicts increased capacity demands will put pressure on the middle mile and will be a focus area of improvement over the next several years.

Here is what Sam Pratt, CEO of Render Networks is predicting for year 2023:

End-to-end construction digitalization is no longer a risk, it's a reality. Operators will pivot towards purpose-built construction technology as standard practice to improve build quality and meet required cycle times, including predictive insights to accurately scope and deploy networks ahead of schedule and under budget.

The skilled labor shortage will continue to persist. To enable network builds to continue, leading operators are turning to technology to improve access to information and increase the productivity and profitability of their workforce while the industry is upskilling the next generation of technicians.

Emerging industry priorities of quality and sustainability are two sides of the same coin. Less rework can eliminate waste, while higher build quality can enhance energy efficiency. The industry’s increased sustainability focus will advance the move to digital construction methods as a solution to build a future-proof network and lower an operator's carbon footprint.

Tools that enable productivity and flexibility in the construction phase will be key for network rollouts as BEAD and private funding requirements increase pressure on states and operators to accelerate deployment to meet funding milestones and ensure unserved locations are prioritized for construction.

Here is what Gareth Smith, General Manager Software Test Automation, Keysight Technologies is predicting on Software Automation & Quality for year 2023:

1. Autonomous Test Design
Traditional test automation still requires that the tests themselves are manually written. Model based approaches allow tests to be generated from the central model; Autonomous Test Design takes the next step and automatically generates these models. This means that the model is auto generated as a “Digital Twin” of the system to be tested, and from there the actual tests are auto generated and executed. This further simplifies and optimizes testing to improve quality and reduce release times and, as a result, will become the de facto approach to testing in 2023.

2. Sustainability of Testing
Traditional test automation is based on the need to run a large number of fixed tests at defined periods (overnight, weekends and prior to a release, for example). The execution of each test requires significant computing power and thus has both an energy cost and an environmental impact. With the increase in energy prices and the greater awareness of sustainability, this legacy approach of “non-intelligent” test automation will be replaced by intelligent test optimization – in which the goal is to only run the tests that are known to identify a problem.

3. Metaverse as a Platform
Vendors need to maintain multiple different channels to engage with customers; the web and mobile are the most common, but there are also dedicated mobile apps, kiosks, IoT devices, ATMs, Set To Boxes, etc. In 2023, expect more conversation around the Metaverse as a significant channel for future customer interaction. This adds a significantly different type of channel for vendors to design, build and test for – meaning that most will need a mobile app, a website and a metaverse implementation. Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) can be attributed to Metaverse environments, providing a new way to deliver products and services. Testing the Metaverse adds significant challenges for most test automation technology, which in turn will accelerate innovation in that space.

4. AI to Provide Assurance of Quality and Behavior
With the increasing complexity of a digital-first world, digital products will come under greater scrutiny. This is already high for safety critical systems but expect it to increase in all areas in 2023. The contents of the product, including all constituent parts and third party components, must be itemized and certified – ensuring that all constituents are authentic and original. As products become more intelligent and AI is more prolific across systems and devices, their behavior becomes more nuanced and complex. The testing of these systems needs a more intelligent technology to understand the responses and validate against acceptable behavior – resulting in the need to use AI to test AI.

5. The Rise of the Citizen Developers
With an increasingly digital savvy population, traditional non-technical audiences are becoming technically proficient and confident in using more complex systems. Combined with advances in user experience design and usability improvements, these new non-technical users can develop for their specific needs through low-code or no-code technology – in many cases removing the need for a separate requirements document for a technical team to implement. This reduces time to delivery and the risk of misinterpretation and increases overall efficiency.