Because of the ease of communication, people living in different countries have been brought closer together, and new ideas and businesses have flourished. Embracing these changes has allowed considerable growth around the globe. According to Statista, the spending on digital transformation technologies worldwide will reach USD $2.49 trillion by the end of 2024.
The move toward increased digitization of our lives has broken down many of the traditional trade barriers that hindered the movement of money across international borders. The flow of international currency now benefits many in developing nations through remittances.
We live in an age of constant technological innovation and analyzing where we are now can help to develop a clearer picture of where we are going in the future.
Current Trends in International Communication
Many of the technologies that we use at present, particularly those for communication have received a major uptick in use in recent years. This was in large part due to the coronavirus pandemic and the way that it forced more people to use video communication software for the first time in their lives.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), the technology that is behind many of the Internet calling platforms has been around for a long time now but it is still an excellent way to transfer telephone calls away from the old copper wire infrastructure that many telephone exchanges were built upon. Being able to communicate entirely through internet-based telephony has improved the service offered to customers in immeasurable ways.
One of the service providers offering international communication tools is BOSS Revolution, the company that allows users to call each other through their app. They also provide an opportunity to top-up another person’s phone internationally and to move money to other app users instantly. These are all ways that the world is being made smaller and relationships, both business and personal, are being cemented and brought closer.
Emerging Technologies Transforming Communication
There are many technological innovations that are changing how we communicate with each other and we have taken a closer look at some of these.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Everyone seems to be talking about Artificial Intelligence at the moment, and predicting that it will have uses in diverse fields around the globe. It is already in use in many places to help people write more coherently and format their writing in a way that is more readily understood.
Natural Language Processing is a tool that is being honed to allow for smoother communication between humans and machines, helping computers to understand and correctly interpret human language.
This field has profound implications for how translation services are provided and may make it much easier in the future to communicate with anyone, without language posing a barrier.
5G and Future Connectivity
Fast mobile internet technology has allowed people around the globe to access a wealth of information wherever they happen to be. 5G has been a real innovator in this respect, with a speed increase of anywhere between 10 times and 100 times over 4G. This speed increase has made true mobile internet a reality, with connection speeds as fast or even faster than relying on a wi-fi connection.
6G will be the next iteration after 5G and it is expected to be another step-change in mobile internet speed. It is still some way off and much of what is being discussed is at the theoretical stage but it will be another revolution in technology infrastructure when it arrives.
Blockchain Technology
Another buzzword that people like to throw about is “blockchain”, but very few people know what it actually means. Blockchain technology underpins the famous BitCoin cryptocurrency and several others and it is considered to be very secure because of how the encryption is generated. If you want to keep data safe, blockchain seems one of the best ways that is emerging to do so.
Evolution of Social Media and Digital Platforms
Social media is a constantly evolving environment and the way that users communicate with each other has been changing over the years. From the early days of MySpace and Friendster to Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, there are generational changes happening that have brought people from around the globe together even when they are separated by thousands of miles.
It increasingly seems like there is a shift among younger generations away from Facebook and more toward Instagram and TikTok, with Facebook potentially just being somewhere older generations will be left using in a few years. As well as owning Facebook, Meta also owns Instagram and Threads, so they have diversified their social media portfolio well in order to keep up with all of the different generations of social media users.
Social media is seen as an everyday lifestyle essential that will continue to shape up. With the growth of “influencer” culture, there are now many young people who see it as a potential career choice.
The Future of Communication Infrastructure
We have already touched on the potential offered by 6G when it comes onstream and with more satellite technology such as Elon Musk’s Starlink system coming online, worldwide internet coverage is set for a major upgrade in the coming years. We will also see ever-faster fiber-optic technology being provided to people’s homes and businesses, spurring the growth and interest in online communications further and faster than ever before.
Conclusion
In the last two decades, there has been a meteoric change in how we communicate globally and the digitization of so much information has meant that co-operation and community can be fostered around the world.
Distances seem smaller than ever before and sending money home to family in distant countries is now as easy as using an app on your phone. New advances will see communication getting easier and less expensive than ever before and this is to be welcomed.