What’s so great about IOWN? Which companies are participating? Are there any overseas companies as well?
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IOWN (Innovative Optical & Wireless Network) is a new idea for an ICT infrastructure that NTT has said is very important.
Right now, the fastest way to communicate is “5G,” but with IOWN, we can achieve even faster speeds and higher capacities.
If IOWN is realized, it is expected to make information technology more convenient, and it is attracting a lot of attention.
In this article, we will explain what makes IOWN so impressive and which companies are participating.
- What is the IOWN concept?
- What makes IOWN so great? What's in it for you?
- 1. Real-time communication becomes possible
- 2. Leads to reduced environmental impact
- 3. Smartphones will become more convenient to use
- 4. Traffic congestion will be eliminated
- Social Background Necessitating IOWN
- Companies Taking Part in IOWN
- If the IOWN concept is realized in 2030, it will change our lives a lot!
What is the IOWN concept?
(Source: NTT)
IOWN is a concept proposed by NTT to “create a prosperous society using cutting-edge optical technology“.
IOWN stands for “Innovative Optical & Wireless Network.” That means “an innovative optical and wireless network”.
The goal is to have this new technology ready by 2030. Right now, we’re working on new ways to communicate and store information.
If the IOWN concept is realized, it will enable even higher speeds, larger capacities, and lower latency than current 5G. This will make a more convenient networked society possible, which is why it is drawing so much attention.
What makes IOWN so great? What’s in it for you?
Many people are curious about what makes IOWN (Innovative Optical & Wireless Network) so impressive.
Here, we present the “expected benefits” that can be achieved by using the IOWN concept.
1. Real-time communication becomes possible
With IOWN, we can send and receive information right away.
This will allow for remote operations to happen almost instantly, which will lead to more widespread use of remote medicine, education, and self-driving cars, among other things.
Experts believe that more and more businesses will start using IT.
2. Leads to reduced environmental impact
If IOWN is realized, energy efficiency will improve because less energy will be used to process data.
This will be very good for the environment. Using IOWN products and services can help make the environment neutral.
3. Smartphones will become more convenient to use
IOWN’s technology improves power efficiency, so you might only have to charge your smartphone once a week.
The idea behind NTT’s concept is to make power use much more efficient. It aims to increase power efficiency by more than 100 times.
If this becomes a reality, for example, if you currently use your smartphone for 24 hours on a single charge, with 100 times greater power efficiency, you would be able to use it for 2,400 hours on a single charge.
Additionally, it is said that data exchanges of over 1,000 Tbps per second will be possible, allowing large amounts of data to be downloaded instantly.
Right now, fiber-optic lines can transmit data at speeds of 1 Gbps, and 5G can reach speeds of up to 20 Gbps. This would be a huge step forward.
4. Traffic congestion will be eliminated
With IOWN, the delay in data transmission can be reduced to one-twentieth of the current speed, and digital twin computing will improve future predictions.
In other words, we’ll be able to predict traffic jams before they happen, and since self-driving cars can be managed and controlled remotely, we might be able to get rid of them altogether.
If the technology gets more accurate, we may be able to manage all vehicles and create a world without traffic accidents.
Social Background Necessitating IOWN
The idea behind NTT’s IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network) is to deal with the “current challenges faced by the Internet”.
As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to grow, it’s expected that the current information and communications systems will eventually reach their limits in terms of how much data they can transmit and process.
There are concerns that this could lead to serious problems in the future, such as increased communication delays. This might make it necessary to reconsider the structure of information and communications systems.
Right now, network load is increasing, and energy consumption is a global issue.
We believe that by developing an efficient IT infrastructure through IOWN, we can solve these issues.
It is also considered necessary for the future world to “create an environment where everyone can access more information equally,” and what is needed to realize such an environment is “technological innovation in communications infrastructure.”
With the realization of IOWN and “improved accuracy in future predictions,” it is expected that everyone will be able to respond more accurately and quickly to future events.
Companies Taking Part in IOWN
(Source: NTT)
To make IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network) a global reality, the “IOWN GLOBAL FORUM” was created. Right now, more than 150 companies are involved.
Three companies started the international non-profit organization “IOWN GLOBAL FORUM.” The companies NTT, Sony, and Intel.
Many companies from different countries are involved, including the United States and South Korea. This makes it a worldwide initiative.
In addition, many different organizations are taking part in IOWN. This includes companies, universities, and research institutions.
| Founding companies of IOWN GLOBAL FORUM | NTT ／ SONY ／ intel |
| Sponsors | Fujitsu / Microsoft / Mitsubishi Electric / Mizuho Financial Group / Mitsubishi UFJ Bank / NEC / National Institute of Information and Communications Technology / Red Hat / SAMSUNG / Sumitomo Electric Industries / Toyota / VMware, etc. |
| General companies | Ajinomoto ／ Dentsu ／ EXIO ／ Hitachi ／ Avago Technologies ／ Ibiden ／ IP infusion ／ ITOCHU Techno-Solutions ／ Mitsubishi Corporation ／ Olympus, etc. |
If the IOWN concept is realized in 2030, it will change our lives a lot!
As described, NTT’s IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network) concept is being developed and researched with many companies, with the goal of implementation in 2030.
With the realization of IOWN, we can expect the internet to become faster, higher in quality, larger in capacity, and lower in latency.
This will affect the social aspects of IT and technology, as well as our daily lives.
It is expected to make life better by making medical care, education, and transportation easier.
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