March 9, 2022 – The XR Association is a founding member of the Pew Charitable Trusts Opportunity Broadband Alliance. The Alliance works to ensure that the United States’ investment in universal, affordable broadband access strengthens communities and promotes equal participation in the economy. As part of the Alliance, XRA will support an action plan aimed at helping communities across the nation benefit from high-speed internet connections.
Seamless and ubiquitous connections to the internet is essential for XR to reach its full potential and widespread adoption. As XRA member company Qualcomm explains, virtual and augmented reality will push the bounds of current internet connectivity. Users of XR technology will need more capacity per user, lower latency and consistent throughput. Without it, issues like heat generation and limited processing power, storage, and battery life of XR head mounted displays will occur. These occurs in high-latency networks where delays in transmission are longer, which in turn causes some users to suffer from visually induced motion sickness (VIMS). Enhanced internet connections can solve these issues by expanding capacity, enabling lower latency, and therefore offer better interactive experiences in XR.
As connectivity is enhanced, the use of XR technology will likewise expand not only for consumers but enterprise users as well. VR is already used for training purposes at companies like Delta, which uses a virtual environment to teach employees in ramp operations how to conduct walk-around inspections without having to clear up ramp space, tie up valuable airplane operating time, or risk employee safety. Workers are experiencing simulated digital environments of training models across industry segments, including health care, real estate, transportation, and manufacturing.
