From Zero to 5G – Our Evolving Datasphere

Our thought and emotions encompass the Earth in an almost-invisible datasphere. At this very moment, these invisible thoughts pass through your body as radio waves, and relay through cables and antennae at the speed of light. Knitted together into a complex network, the evolving datasphere is a novel and continually surprising part of our lives. How did it come to be, and what is it changing into?

As this datasphere improves over time, communication specialists have come to refer to the technical advances as new “generations”. We’re on the cusp of a new generation being rolled out across the world, and there’s a growing realisation that these networks will be critical drivers of cultural and economic growth in the years to come. To understand the promise and enthusiasm for the upcoming Fifth Generation, or 5G, mobile telecommunications networks, we need to look back and understand the very beginnings of the datasphere.

The Zeroth Generation: Early Telecommunications

Before humanity, information travelled in ways we can only barely imagine: Whales sang songs that echoed around