The telecommunications industry is facing an increase in demand for Internet bandwidth. The pandemic and the latest consumer technology trends have more than doubled bandwidth needs.
With VR/AR applications, blockchain, and Metaverse technology going mainstream, this growth continues. That’s a problem because the current infrastructure, still governed by decades-old protocols, can't keep up.
However, new blockchain-based solutions such as Syntropy can help solve this challenge. We can upgrade Internet connectivity across the globe.
That’s why telecommunication companies, venture capitalists, investors, and Web3 enthusiasts are excited to join. It’s a massive opportunity to impact people’s lives.
Thanks to the partnerships with telecommunication companies, Internet users can now also help build a Web3-friendly future.
Let’s dive into the problems and see how the best solutions are shaping up…
The 2 Big Bandwidth Problems Killing Telecommunication Companies Today
There are two significant problems every telecommunication company and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must face.
Network congestion caused by increasing bandwidth demands
On the one hand, ISPs have trouble keeping up with increased consumer demand. You have probably been on the receiving end of this. That is if you ever experienced increased latency (also known as lag) or service outages:
- In 2020, YouTube service went down across the globe
- The OECD warns that since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, demand for broadband communication services has soared. With some operators experiencing as much as a 60% increase in Internet traffic compared to before the crisis
- After the pandemic, Netflix had to cut the bitrate of its videos in Europe
- In 2021 a service outage brought down Amazon, Twitter, Twitch, and more
- Network congestion, aka “online rush hour traffic”, is slowing down data-heavy applications and services every weeknight from 7 pm to 11 pm
These issues will only get worse unless we do something.
Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg said, for users to enjoy a seamless Metaverse, it could take 5 to 10 years. And ISPs predict that by 2030, we are set to experience a 30x Internet traffic growth.
But we don’t have to go that far in the future for a massive increase in global bandwidth use.
Virtual reality games and augmented reality applications now use 2x to 3x the data regular games and apps used. Plus, a new global video streaming service is launching every year. Each of them offers non-stop, often 4k multimedia content.
Not to mention the immense growth of online applications. The entire world soon gets connected to the Internet thanks to affordable smartphones. They need bandwidth too.
All of this adds to a massive increase in consumer demand for data that ISPs can’t keep up with.
This costs businesses. According to estimations, if we want to keep the Internet running on its current protocols, it’d take a $428B investment in infrastructure to meet this growth.
Unused & unsellable bandwidth
On the other hand, ISPs also leave money on the table from unused bandwidth that they can’t currently sell. This may seem counterintuitive after discussing the previous problem. We’ll soon explain why both issues coexist. But let’s dive into this problem first.
Telecommunication companies have invested massive resources into building their servers and data centers. They connect households across the globe with fiber optics. And they keep a considerable infrastructure up and running.
They have to take care of these assets 24/7. Most of their subscribers mostly use their service at certain times of the day. And while ISPs charge a monthly bandwidth subscription, 70% of their existing infrastructure goes unused. That’s because of how current connectivity technology works.
According to the Wireless Global Congress “There’s tremendous capacity in hundreds of millions of broadband connections that already terminate in WiFi. Most of the time, only a small percentage of this capacity is used today by the subscribers.”
Sometimes, extra capacity would be precious for users… other times, they wouldn’t need their bandwidth.
How can there be congestion if a LOT of bandwidth also goes unused?
Good question. Both issues can co-exist because of the way the Internet infrastructure is currently built.
Let’s use an allegory to illustrate the issue:
Imagine a popular road leading from the suburbs to the inner city. With no alternative roads connecting the two. During rush hour, there will be traffic jams on this road. You simply can’t make it wide enough to let all those cars seamlessly through all at once. Not without a severe waste of resources.
But then, every other time of the day? The same road barely gets any traffic.
The same issue comes up with Internet bandwidth. Only it’s not one road, but millions of roads between millions of destinations all over the world. And due to how current Internet infrastructure is built, certain roads MUST be traveled by everyone to get to “popular” destinations. (Think of the data centers connecting continents, etc.)
This causes network congestion which can be thought of as traffic jams. 70% of the infrastructure MIGHT be unused at the same time. But that doesn’t help the traffic (data) getting from a set point A to a set point B through a predetermined path.
Of course, the users only experience that their Internet connection is acting up again. People blame their ISPs, not the outdated connectivity protocols.
That’s part of why out of 45 industries surveyed, ISPs ranked 45 in customer satisfaction. But thanks to our new blockchain-enhanced connectivity solution, Syntropy, that’s all about to change.
Syntropy Partners With Telecommunication Companies To Provide A Blockchain-enhanced Solution
Remember our example with the cars and traffic jams? Syntropy offers a patented DARP technology that acts like Waze (the GPS app). And helps direct Internet traffic on alternative paths to their destinations.
These suggested paths are based on real-time bandwidth congestion data. And they offer the least possible latency – significantly increasing Internet speed and reliability.
Syntropy node operators can set up and run this system without extra hardware. And when their nodes receive and send data, they get rewarded with $NOIA, Syntropy’s native token.
Therefore $NOIA makes the Internet programmable by anyone. That includes how your traffic is routed. So this solves both the congestion and the unsellable bandwidth issues discussed above. All while giving the power back to developers and users to run the Internet.
Industry giants are already collaborating, testing, and using Syntropy’s exciting new blockchain-enhanced network solution.
Enterprises, telecommunication companies and users get on board
Syntropy already has a solid case study for the sports betting giant Entain. Here our technology prevented a 35-minute service outage due to congestion. This would have cost the company millions. Plus, the increase in network performance thanks to decreased latency is also visible.
It’s not just enterprises taking notice.
ISPs and telecommunications companies are also open to partnerships with Syntropy.
This is largely thanks to the current and former executives at Microsoft, AT&T and Verizon on our board. They provide us with their insights on the most pressing issues of the industry.
Most recently, we announced an exciting partnership with a leading international telecommunications service provider, PCCW Global.
With Syntropy’s technology, PCCW Global can provide more reliable, secure, and stable service across its network.
With PCCW Global help, we can fulfill our vision to build a global network of networks. We are benefiting both ISPs and everyday users.
Together, we can build a Web3-ready Internet by unlocking the full capabilities of the existing infrastructure. Therefore, subscribers of these ISPs will play a big role in the future of the Internet.
To join the ranks of Entain and PCCW Global and utilize Syntropy, head over to the Syntropy Stack website and discover how we can help you.