Telcos and the metaverse: A happy marriage?
Summary
Using a virtual reality (VR) headset, users can enter a digital world where they can move and interact using hand-held controllers. The profit for the telecommunication industry is already estimated to be substantial, with many telecom companies such as Verizon joining the mix to build elevated apps to resemble today’s social media and e-commerce in the metaverse. To achieve the metaverse as theorised, the investment in research and innovation for telecoms companies would be sizable, which may require gaining outside funding from other partners. The advantage of using this approach is that it can simplify operations by removing the need for transponders, whilst retaining long-distance transmission with little delay. New censorship, control communications, regulatory enforcement, tax reporting, radicalisation prevention and many other issues require review.