To find the use cases for 5G, it helps to look at the rise of other technologies. Take, for example, experiential NFTs (non-fungible tokens), which are being used by fans in areas like sports, fashion and gaming.
In the future, NFTs will evolve from being used to authenticate, buy and sell JPEGs of pieces of art to experiencing augmented reality and mixed reality, which will demand more bandwidth. The additional spectrum will help reduce latency and create a “more immersive” experience, according to David Cash, founder of Cash Labs, which focuses on NFT experiences. This is where 5G comes in.
“5G can also allow those of us engaged in the NFT ecosystem … to interact IRL [an acronym for in real life] with greater ease,” Cash wrote in an article commissioned by Verizon. Lower latency and higher speeds can allow certain processes to happen nearly instantly.”
As an example of an IRL event, Cash references the Verizon NFT public beta event in June 2021 during an online gaming event. By going online and attending the event, fans were able to purchase NFTs of athletes (holograms of victory dances), interact with the athletes and have their NFTs autographed.
“From using NFTs to access both virtual and IRL events and seamlessly paying with crypto to experiencing extended-reality artworks — the accessibility of our data, when stored on-chain, is highly dependent on our access to reliable networks,” Cash wrote.
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
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