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'''Mauricio''': I think this keyword works well. It captures the specificity of XG-technology while explaining the global politics. I also like the last part about the materiality of increasing connectivity. Perhaps, I am a bit sceptic to the part of infrastructures’ subjects that are suspended in a state of constant anticipation. This is an interesting and analytical claim but that opens up a bit too much and leaves at least me with questions about who or what is the infrastructures’ subjects. | |||
Revision as of 16:09, 22 December 2023
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.
Mauricio: I think this keyword works well. It captures the specificity of XG-technology while explaining the global politics. I also like the last part about the materiality of increasing connectivity. Perhaps, I am a bit sceptic to the part of infrastructures’ subjects that are suspended in a state of constant anticipation. This is an interesting and analytical claim but that opens up a bit too much and leaves at least me with questions about who or what is the infrastructures’ subjects.