This past Sunday, Eliud Kipchoge smashed the marathon world record at the Berlin Marathon, with a time of 2:01:39, shaving 1 minute 22 seconds off the previous world record. Though some running experts claim a marathon under two hours will never happen, I think elite runners will continue to push the speed envelope and we will witness a sub-two-hour marathon one day.
The marathon isn’t the only area where the speed envelope is being pushed. Another area, and the focus of today’s blog, is in the wireless space.
It was in 2002 when the first commercial 3G network launched in the United States. 3G made it possible for our phones to run applications using a global positioning system (GPS) or using videoconferencing, among other things. The second half of 2010 marked the first commercial launch of 4G in the United States, with many of the mobile network operators launching this service. 4G expanded on the speed of 3G and made it possible for consumers to access the web with their mobile devices, stream high-definition video, and connect Internet of Things devices.
Now, as we approach the fourth quarter of 2018, we are on the cusp of 5G networks, which will be 10 times as fast as our 4G networks. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article on 5G that sparked my interest in the topic, the speed of 5G networks will allow the proliferation of applications such as self-driving cars, virtual reality, and remote surgery. And this got me thinking, what impact will 5G have on the future of commerce, payments, and security?
I haven’t spent any time researching that last question, but no doubt there will be significant benefits and risks that 5G networks will introduce into retail payments. I can draw inspiration from one of my favorite cartoons, the Jetsons, and think ahead to what a Jetson house might look like in 2025: one that is filled with connected devices that communicate with not only us but also each other. Close your eyes and imagine a house with a robotic vacuum that communicates with a virtual home assistant when it needs new bags—and zero human interaction is needed in the process. Or imagine a vehicle that drives itself to the nearest gas station when the low-fuel light appears. Undoubtedly, this new faster-speed wireless world will create security threats that we have yet to face.
So as we at the Risk Forum think about the possibilities and new risks of a 5G world and its impact on commerce, payments, and security, what should we be paying attention to?
By Douglas A. King, payments risk expert in the Retail Payments Risk Forum at the Atlanta Fed