EDITOR ’ S QUESTION

MAGNO FUGISAVA , MARKET MANAGER , FURUKAWA

ELECTRIC LATIN AMERICA

The Metaverse is a virtual world to which we will connect using a series of devices that will make us think that we are really inside it , interacting with all its elements . But , to deploy it , a robust technological infrastructure will be necessary to provide a truly immersive experience .

It may seem new but the concept of the Metaverse dates back to 1992 when Neal Stephenson , a science fiction writer , defined it in his novel Snow Crash as a virtual and collective fictional world . Currently , it is easier to refer to it as a Three-Dimensional Immersive Internet .

Metaverse will need a robust technological infrastructure , capable of providing all the computing capacity , storage and bandwidth .

Nevertheless , the Metaverse became relevant when in November 2021 , Mark Zuckerberg , CEO of Facebook , announced the name change of his company to Meta Platforms Inc ., or simply Meta , reaching a new level of virtual experience in which users will be able to meet , work and play with virtual reality headsets , Augmented Reality glasses , applications on smartphones and other devices .

After the announcement , the interest in building digital worlds increased a lot among companies and users . So much so that according to a Bloomberg Intelligence

survey , the Metaverse technology platform could become a US $ 800 billion market by 2024 .

Now , to be deployed , the Metaverse will need a robust technological infrastructure , capable of providing all the computing capacity , storage and bandwidth necessary to provide a truly immersive experience . In fact , Qualcomm pointed out in 2018 that , to develop a virtual reality environment , such as the Metaverse , a minimum browsing speed of 200 Mbps would be necessary , according to a Qualcomm study .

Therefore , the technology that best satisfies these demanding requirements is fiber optics , since it offers very high speeds , reaching a capacity of hundreds of Terabits in recent tests . This will become the essential connection for the development of virtual and immersive experiences that will characterize the Metaverse , since it guarantees many parameters that are necessary to develop a real-time experience , such as greater signal stability and audio transmission and real-time video .

Without a doubt , connectivity will be crucial in enabling the Metaverse . However , the maturity of this new immersive environment will not be reached before 10 or 15 years and it will also require the work of many companies , some of which are already advancing in the construction of their own Metaverses , such as Microsoft , Nvidia and Epic Games , the creators of Fortnite .

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