A hyper-connected world: 5G and smart cities
What if you lived in a world where everything around you could talk, listen and watch?
Where your biometric data was tracked in real time, and devices exchanged it at speeds no human could follow?
That world isn’t in the future, it’s here now.
We launched our new event series, The Future Is Here, with a keynote from renowned futurist and author Rocky Scopelliti.
Drawing on research with 700 Australian executives, Scopelliti explored what the next decade could hold. His insights are captured in his book Australia 2030: Where the Bloody Hell Are We?, a deep dive into the forces set to reshape our lives.
Insights from Australia 2030
The research explores how Australian professionals view the physical, biological, digital and environmental changes ahead.
Some of the predicted milestones are straight out of science fiction – nanobots circulating inside our bodies by decade’s end, virtual reality becoming part of daily life, wearable tech embedded into everything we do, and 3D manufacturing changing entire industries.
Driving this transformation will be quantum computing, blockchain, IoT, robotics, 3D printing and ultra-fast mobile networks. The next wave of 5G will bring unprecedented global connectivity at a fraction of today’s cost.
Scopelliti’s findings reveal strong optimism: 68% of professionals expect breakthroughs in biology, including new treatments for illness, and 74% believe science and technology have already improved our social, cultural and economic future.
5G, hyper-connectivity and Adelaide’s edge
After the keynote, an expert panel unpacked Australia’s 5G rollout, the rise of hyper-connectivity, and why Adelaide is emerging as the nation’s most connected city.
The panel brought together:
Matthew Schultz – President, Australian Smart Communities Association
Sandra Vallance – CEO, Sabrenet
Dave Gerner – Innovation Manager, City of Adelaide
Faheem Tabassum – Senior Manager, 5G & Cloud Edge, Optus
Rocky Scopelliti – Futurist and Author
The discussion was moderated by Chris Kirk, General Manager, Stone & Chalk Adelaide.
5G rollout and what’s next
Matthew Schultz noted that Australia is still in the early stages of 5G rollout.
The next big leap will come with high-band spectrum, known in the industry as millimetre wave, which will enable ultra-low latency and support massive numbers of simultaneous connections.
“It’s going to take three to five, maybe even seven years to roll that full capability of 5G across all parts of Australia,” he said, stressing the need to invest in infrastructure to stay competitive globally.
Faheem Tabassum added that while consumers experience 5G as faster internet, its impact on enterprises , and especially manufacturing, is far broader.
“That is the beauty of it, underpinned by high speed, low latency and ultra-reliability, offering advanced capability and a diverse array of use cases.”
Sandra Vallance highlighted Adelaide’s advantage: a 400 km fibre-optic network that’s been leveraged cost-effectively to power city-wide innovation.
“The very inexpensive gigabit speed has made an enormous difference to businesses,” she said.
Dave Gerner also noted that Adelaide’s layout has also made it an ideal testing ground for new technologies, from sensory systems to real-time heat measurement.
The opportunities to collaborate
The panel agreed that smart cities thrive when opportunities deliver real benefits for the community.
“Private and public sectors need to collaborate in order to unlock the value created by hyper-connectivity.”
They also cautioned that data privacy and cybersecurity must be addressed, not just at an organisational level, but by individuals and as a nation.
This is what will allow technology to flourish and improive our communities.
This webinar is the first in our new event series “The Future Is Here". You can watch the full discussion on our YouTube channel.
To stay up-to-date with this and more, join the Stone & Chalk mailing list.
