2017 has just arrived and there’s a lot to look forward to. Internet companies like Google, various internet providers, mobile companies and all other users, treat the broadband industry as a new innovation in the technology we use everyday to communicate with each other through the Internet. Here are some of the innovations coming to home consumers everywhere:

1.      Fiber optic technology is going to go faster too

Fiber optic technology has three innovations to look forward to in the coming year – the first two will improve its speed dramatically while the third will increase the distance of how much a light pulse can travel without deteriorating to an unreliable state.

The first one deals with something called multicore fiber optics which lets optical fibers transmit more data. A common fiber usually has one core where light pulse travels through. Just as its name implies a multicore has more, making it able to send more light pulses. Though it isn’t out yet for commercial use, according to the 34^th volume of the Journal of Lightwave Technology, published in January 2015, it is already expected to be a good candidate in overcoming the current optical communication system’s capacity limit. While the current consumer fibre internet plans offer around 700/400 Mbps download/upload – it seems there’s a lot more to go in 2017 before hitting the technological barrier.

The second one deals with what is called coded modulation. A group of scientists at the University College London has created a device that can receive and identify light pulses with different wavelengths. The idea is to send multiple light pulses in different wavelengths through the fiber, creating a “super-channel” that will let it send more data. The technique is akin to that of a wireless device sorting out different signals.

Finally the last one is about using a frequency comb when sending data so that the signal is precise and evenly spaced. This will allow them to encode data before it’s transmitted, thus enabling them to further transmit data to farther distances without the need for regenerating the data. This also increases the capacity of the sent data. It is said to be less expensive as compared to other networks since the need to renew light signals is reduced.

2.      5G Technology for mobile and wireless broadband

The current 4G standard is getting old and there’s a need right now to create a new one that promises to be bigger and better than 4G. That’s what 5G is all about. 5G technology is aimed to be an improvement to the 4G technology we have today. 5G ‘s main targets of improvements are better efficiency, faster speeds, and wider coverage.

Right now, research and development is ongoing. A lot of countries, like Korea and the UK, Internet and mobile companies, such Huawei and Ericsson, Samsung and Verizon, Google, and Qualcomm have taken an interest in 5G and have been making their own research and development since 2008 to ensure that they won’t be left behind. But predictions made by The Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance and Broadband Commission say that the technology might take up until 2020 for it to be completely available to everyone.

3.      G.fast technology for both DSL and Mobile

G.fast is an emerging innovation in DSL technology, promising to increase DSL speeds up to 30 times to that of the current speed. What’s amazing about this technology is that it can be applied to existing DSL networks. That makes it’s deployment cheap and fast, should the technology reach the stage where it can be offered commercially to homes and businesses.

And it isn’t just DSL that will be innovated by G.fast technology: Nokia, who has been researching and developing G.fast for their own use, has recently released something called “XG.fast” which is a mobile version of said technology. This is currently being deployed in the UK and Nokia is expecting to get as much as 10 million subscribers

Do note that these technological improvements may take a while and may not exactly come out this year. But the more they can be sure its ready for the public, the more we’ll be satisfied when they finally decided to roll it out for public use.