SoLiXG:XG

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XG

In the evolution of cellular networks, experts distinguish multiple "generations" of technological standards, spanning from 1G, the initial analog networks formulated in the 1980s, to the advent of 5G, supposed to facilitate high-speed ubiquitous internet connectivity since 2020. These generations are the product of continuous and complex processes of standard setting, which entail the collaboration of various transnational institutions (such as the International Telecommunication Union or the 3rd Generation Partnership Project). They bring together governmental and industrial stakeholders to negotiate technical consensuses on the global operation of mobile communication (1). The deployment of new "Gs" follows a pattern that is well-established in the development of digital technologies. It promises increasing bandwith, diminishing latencies and novel applications set to revolutionize the private and business use of technology.

While designations like 4G, 5G or 6G attempt to define bundles of technologies and standards, "XG" captures the process of development, expansion and maintenance of infrastructures for the digital. As media scholar Wendy Chun points out, this process is never finished and constantly gestures towards the next update. It is driven by crises, such as security risks, environmental imperatives, geopolitical struggles or armed conflicts (2). But while the expansion of technological capabilities appears inevitable, the infrastructures' subjects are suspended in a state of constant anticipation, waiting to adapt to the newest release. Such a temporal rhythm exceeds cellular networks. It represents an embodiment of "Moore's Law", the claim that computing power increases exponentially, that extends to the general trajectory of digital technological development. Increasing connectivity and computing power involves expanding the material infrastructures that make "the internet" possible. This includes erecting radio towers and antennae, laying optical fibre cables across continents and the ocean floors, building data centers, semiconductor fabrication plants or "Gigafactories" that produce lithium-ion batteries.

(1) Oever, Niels ten, and Stefania Milan. 2022. “The Making of International Communication Standards: Towards a Theory of Power in Standardization.” Journal of Standardisation 1.
(2) Chun, Wendy Hui Kyong. 2016. Updating to Remain the Same. Habitual New Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, p. 69.