Isn’t “wireless cabling” a contradiction in terms? If something offers wireless connectivity, isn’t it by definition because of a lack of cables? The confusion is certainly understandable, but we haven’t actually reached that point yet, despite the enormous leaps forward emerging technologies in connectivity systems have taken. For the moment, wireless access points (WAPs) and access points (APs) to any network system still require at least one physical connection – i.e. some cables – to the electrical system that makes the network connectivity possible.

That doesn’t mean we’re destined for a wired future forever, of course, given technologies are already starting to emerge that look set to make better connectivity possible. And not just in terms of data transmission systems, but also energy sources, reducing our environmental footprint, and the volume of resources that high-performance connectivity systems require.

Connectivity and sustainability: inseparable bedfellows

While we mostly focus on achieving faster and more efficient Internet access in the developed world, nearly 800 million people around the world still lack the electricity needed to light their homes, cook, heat water for washing and to conserve food, for example, according to 2022 data from the United Nations. At the same time, the record annual temperatures we’re seeing across the planet confirm that we’ve been getting warmer by at least one degree on average over the past nine years, proof of global warming.

Achieving total global electrification by 2030 is one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, but so is establishing sustainable cities and communities, all this under the umbrella of climate action. That’s why emerging technologies in the field of energy creation and energy management are so terrifically important.

Emerging technologies in energy management and green energy

As well as ensuring that all our major energy sources can gradually shift away from fossil fuels towards clean energy sources – like solar and wind, for example –, the efficiency of future energy production and management systems is key. In this sense, two main vectors have been the focus of much of the industry’s attention for a number of years now, namely automation, followed by the use of big data and artificial intelligence to drive autonomous operations.

In this way, smart dashboards and automated power plants will be able to monitor demand in real time, only producing the exact amounts of energy needed at any given moment. This will greatly boost efficiency, extend the service life of equipment, and reduce breakdowns, or at least the need for constant maintenance.

The future of wireless cabling

Wi-Fi 7

In the first quarter of this year, the rollout plan for the next iteration of wireless connectivity standard will be made official: Wi-Fi 7. The seventh stage of Wi-Fi’s development promises to be even more efficient and faster with less latency and extended bandwidth. The underlying technology is IEEE 802.11be – Extremely High Throughput (EHT). Although its older siblings, Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, are still not very well known to most people, Wi-Fi 7 will quadruple the transfer rates obtained with the previous Wi-Fi standard, rising from 9.6Gbps to a maximum of around 40Gbps.

Li-Fi: an emerging connectivity technology using light

If you vary light frequencies between 400 and 800 Terahertz (THz) using LED lights that flash at a certain speed – so fast they’re imperceptible to the human eye – data can actually be transmitted between two points using a photo receiver and a special encoder. Whether the light is on or off can be interpreted as ones and zeros, or even as electrical pulses, which could make wireless cabled connectivity a genuine alternative to Wi-Fi or 5G. Although this technology has only been in development for a short amount of time now – since 2011 – it has plenty of cheerleaders who think it could one day lead to a connectivity revolution of its own.