The demands of the immersive Internet and metaverse need entirely new digital infrastructures and collaborations!

By Ivo Ivanov, CEO and Chair of the Board of the Internet Exchange operator DE-CIX

Forecasts abound of revenues from the metaverse reaching a trillion dollars by 2030. Consultants at McKinsey & Co. go even further, suggesting that the global impact of the metaverse could grow to as much as US$ 5 trillion by the end of the decade. But to even begin to exploit this potential and meet the demands of the digital future, the infrastructure in particular needs to be upgraded and existing silos must become a thing of the past, says Ivo Ivanov, CEO and Chair of the Board of the Internet Exchange operator DE-CIX.

Although the Internet as we know it today is the largest infrastructure project in human history, this gigantic network of networks will not be sufficient to meet the high demands of our digital future. This is a simple truth! With the immersive Internet, the demands on the digital infrastructure of the future reach a completely new level. What we need to prepare for here is not just a new phase of technological evolution. We are currently on the threshold of a completely new digital age, the infrastructural foundations of which still need to be built. And it’s better we start today than tomorrow. Why is that? Let’s take the concept of the Metaverse as an example, and look at the technical requirements needed for a user to enjoy an excellent user experience (UX). Applications such as virtual or augmented reality need high bandwidth and at the same time extremely low latency. If we want to immerse ourselves in new digital worlds with the best possible experience, we need more efficient data transmission paths.

Data packets need to travel at high speeds with low round-trip times (latencies) not only
between network and user but also between different networks, for example, those of
business partners whose services in combination bring the metaverse to life. Current digital
applications provide an acceptable UX with a latency of (at most) a blink of an eye (about 100 milliseconds), but not a great one. Even today, a maximum latency of 35 milliseconds is
required for a really good UX. However, with each innovation in virtual perception – visual,
auditory, or even haptic – the latency sensitivity of applications increases. So, for the
immersive virtual world of the future, latency in the single-digit millisecond range will be
required to guarantee a flawless UX. But why is that? It is the nature of human perception.
The human brain needs only 20 milliseconds to pick up haptic information, 13 milliseconds to process visual cues, and less than one millisecond to perceive auditory delays. In other
words, to create an authentic immersive environment, you need to realize the shortest of
these latencies. This is the only way to make reactions and interactions feel natural and to
avoid cybersickness, for example.

Instead of the infrastructures of web1 and web2, we need much more powerful data
transmission pathways for the future. Big pipes and high-performance computing need to be as close as possible to users and smart devices. To create a seamless and authentic
experience, digital infrastructure providers must build a dense, globally distributed,
interconnected infrastructure, while offering a growing number of specialized and customised interconnection services. The same applies to companies that want to be present on the immersive Internet and fully exploit the business potential. Here, too, it is important to build their own robust, distributed, and resilient digital infrastructure together with competent connectivity partners.

The most important thing about this approach is that if we want the immersive Internet of the future to function and succeed, we will need alliances and collaborations from a wide variety of companies in the Internet industry and participants throughout the value chain. This is not an exercise! We are (co)operating here jointly on the unique opportunity of a new digital future, the digital life of tomorrow, everywhere on earth, one which will bring benefits for education, health, and the environment. The old silo mentality is a thing of the past. It must be left behind. Better today than tomorrow – for the Internet of the future!