Tyler Suiters 0:12
Hey, everybody. With the consumer Technology Association, I'm Tyler Suiters. We own and we produce CES. It is the biggest and most influential tech event on the planet. And this week on CES Tech Talk, fifth generation cellular technology. But I bet you know that much better as 5G. That's the terminology we're all using right now in the industry. It's about connectivity. One of the driving trends of our time, and 5G is going to deliver this new way some of us can't imagine. We're talking about networks that will be up to 100 times faster than we have today. And also five times more responsive. 5G will be the platform for innovation of things like self driving vehicles. Smart cities, AR/VR and digital health. 5G is going to deliver what's next, now.
Tyler Suiters 1:10
One of the leaders in Wi-Fi technology and wireless networks is also a key player right now in the emerging 5G field that is Boingo Wireless. And joining us today from California is Dr. Derek Peterson. He is Chief Technology Officer at Boingo where he's responsible for technical vision and strategy. Derek, good to have you with us. And I'd imagine technical vision and strategy very much applied to where 5G is for you right now
Derek Peterson 1:36
You have that right. The growth of wireless networks continues and making sure that you're ahead of all the new technologies to be successful, is very important part of my job and something that I work on daily.
Tyler Suiters 1:55
Where do you start with a definition of 5G? And I'd ask you to frame it for more of your b2b audience there for Boingo. Beyond saying fifth generation, where do you take it from there when you're given the elevator pitch about what this is?
Derek Peterson 2:12
Yeah, to me, it's about having the right connection at the right time. Being able to augment that connection to be able to develop and create advanced connectivity solutions. Like we've heard many people talking about fast speeds for doing things in a quick manner, like VR and AR. That's highly talked about or low latency. Which is also a very important thing for being able to interact without having delay. I think that's really what 5G is about. It's about improving the immersion of our digital and our physical world together. That immersive experience that we're trying to create with a connected world.
Tyler Suiters 2:59
Now take that a layer deeper then, for businesses you're dealing with. What's the sub headline there if it goes beyond just anytime, anywhere connectivity and much lower? If a virtual absence of latency? Where do you go from there when you're getting in the weeds?
Derek Peterson 3:17
I think where you're going is creating an opportunity, where we're immersed into those experiences instead of having to try to find those experiences by staring at our phones or being involved with I have to look down here at my phone to be able to look up that experience that I want to enjoy again. And know the facts that we're trying to do with voice activation by asking Google or an Alexa. We're having to actually verbalize those questions of "Hey, what's LeBron (Lebron James) shooting percentage at the free throw line right before he's making a shot?". Instead of being able to look at LeBron and be able to see that and say, "Oh here's his stats for being able to make that shot. And here's his heart rate as he's about to be able to attempt that shot. It's really about creating that greater experience.
Tyler Suiters 4:16
I assume it's pure coincidence that you're checking in from Los Angeles, home of the Lakers, and you just happen to use LeBron James as a reference point. Right?
Derek Peterson 4:25
Exactly. We're very excited about him being here as you would imagine.
Tyler Suiters 4:29
So I mentioned Boingo's history in the Wi Fi sector and really just touched on it because you are such a leader in the corporate sector. Where is Wi Fi's role with 5G? Is this a coexistence? Is this a synergy? How do you mesh the two in your mind?
Derek Peterson 4:49
Yeah for us about two years ago, this manifesto a call for convergence. It was our vision and it maintains our vision, that merging licensed, unlicensed and shared networks provides a better experience. So for us, Wi-Fi, cellular, whether it be licensed cellular, or shared cellular like CBRS, or unlicensed cellular like multi fire, all of these technologies work together to create a larger pool of airwaves. Thereby creating more lanes for those wireless connections, and resulting in less wireless congestion. And that better connected experience.
Tyler Suiters 5:37
One of the terms I hear associated with 5G is that it's going to be an already is becoming in many senses. Derek, a platform for innovation, that is 5G is going to enable such rapid advancements and applications across self-driving vehicles across smart cities, you name an emerging technology sector, and it's going ride on the back of 5G. Do you agree with that statement? Would you amend it at all or proceed evolve with it?
Derek Peterson 6:08
You know, I think one of the things about the wireless industry is innovation has been there for a long time and continues to grow. When you start thinking about IoT and all the devices that are coming on. Billions of devices that are trying to get connected. I mean, we're connecting our lights, our homes, our lives, our cars, everything. To be able to find that additional information and or that better immersive experience of combining that physical and digital world. I think that as we start thinking of 5G, it does promise some of that, if we can get to those speeds but an important part of that is recognizing one of the things. One of the core things of 5G, is recognizing the need to converge all of these different networks together. One of the challenges I always have is, there's different players who are pushing and different technologies. For us to really take advantage and have a seamless connected society. We need to have a collaboration of all of these technologies. I think that's where we see the world going. When we look at 5G, it's a little bit different than maybe a cellular person or vendor who's focused on licensed technology. They're going to end up pushing it towards that definition and Wi Fi guys going to push it towards a Wi-Fi definition, 802.11X and some of the new technologies coming out there. Whereas, when we look at it, we really look at it for our venues and the customers that we have, of really having that commitment to that convergence at every level. So that we can end up delivering the true value of what 5G's going to bring.
Tyler Suiters 7:56
Well I want to take that term convergence and run with it a little bit because in that response you're talking about various verticals who are involved in this that are that are separate but, connected. That's a kind of a ham-handed way to describe it on my end. I'm going to use a really boring business term, which is stakeholder engagement. How critical is that the development of 5G nationally, just speaking of here in the U.S. Identifying the other stakeholders. Whether that's manufacturing, whether that's distribution, whether that's, you know, all the way downstream on usage and working together on this? Or is this purely a competitive play?
Derek Peterson 8:38
For who?
Tyler Suiters 8:40
Anybody? Anybody in that 5G value chain? Right?
Derek Peterson 8:45
Yeah, I don't see it as a competitive play. I see it as a collaboration opportunity for all the stakeholders, what we're finding is working in our neutral host approach. To be able to bring connectivity to venues. We need all of our partners. We need all of our vendors. We need all of the stakeholders to work together. It goes beyond just the ones in the business sector. It also goes obviously into the political sector where, in the past, and we continue to be held up sometimes by laws or the FCC. That keep us from being able to deploy networks.
We're working toward that, as you know, with the recent push by, you know, the political arm to speed up the deployment of 5G. That's a very important part of the ecosystem, as well as recognizing that this is really going to take the collaboration of all of the stakeholders to pull it off, because you're going to technologies that require smaller cells. So they're going to have this overlay network. Which is what we're used to today, which stretches 30 miles, perhaps on it on a single macro tower. But you're also going to have this underlay network, which is going to be made up of many small cells. And some of those small cells, when you start getting up into the millimeter wave might be very direct or very pointed. If you get into things like Wi-Fi, which is using light spectrum to be able to provide Wi Fi, that's line of sight. And so as you start bringing all these different kinds of connections in, they're going to have to collaborate because each of them is going to be a part of that entire wireless ecosystem, providing that connectivity.
Tyler Suiters 10:38
So when you look at the whole ecosystem, and this is more of a personal question, maybe than a professional question Derek. But, what are the innovations that you are most excited about? Is there a particular sector application that really gets you going in terms of the possibilities and potentials? Whether it's for consumers, businesses or both?
Derek Peterson 10:56
Yeah, I guess I'll share a couple of answers that are from a personal perspective. I'm excited about what's happening in a biological sense. I use my Garmin watch and these fitness watches you use that keep track of your health. I even have a chip embedded in my hand and a near field communication chip, or a Bluetooth chip embedded in my hand that allows me to interact with my home and with my environment. I think from a biological standpoint, having had a sister who was paralyzed and lived her life in a wheelchair, there were some things that we can do today that weren't possible in the past that will end up in improving the experiences for everyone, no matter what biological physical elements that the world might bring upon them. So personally, I think that that's an area that's exciting. Not an area that I'm highly engaged in. But personally it's very important from a Boingo perspective or from a business perspective, one of the other areas I really see is the social and economic capabilities that wireless brings to a connected society. There are cases where smart homes smart cities and those kind of capabilities really allow us to break down barriers that exist there in our social and economic development. In areas like what's going on in Africa and what's going on in certain areas of cities, where they're getting connectivity. Where they didn't have connectivity to be able to bridge some of those social and economic challenges. So I think that's another exciting area as we move more connectivity. Providing that to individuals but not just changing and improving wireless, for really changing and improving lives.
Tyler Suiters 12:59
So social and economic benefits, interesting path to follow Derek. In the sense that as the digital economy grows all the time, is expanding into more and more areas of the world. Not just other industries or sectors. You need to be connected to the viable economically or even from an employability standpoint. Is 5G something of an equalizer in your mind? And that may be a geographic dependent? Answer, frankly.
Derek Peterson 13:31
I think it can be. I think, one of the things that we've seen on some of the sci fi channels we watch, is the ability for somebody to participate in a conference call. We're doing it today, we're sharing this conversation over a podcast and over the internet connecting on the phone.
Derek Peterson 13:53
Imagine if we could do that digitally in person. So you can see a 3d out, I can see you just like I'm sitting in the room with you and you can see me just like I'm sitting in the room with you there. Imagine the kind of opportunity that creates for people who are living in different areas or who want to be a part of that engage, but they don't have the ability to fly and do all those in person meetings. So I do think it's an equalizer. I see that 5G and having gigabit speeds is going to change the way we perform these kinds of meetings like what we're having today.
Tyler Suiters 14:28
Well, that's a really creative example, in the sense that a 3D image for interaction in-person of a virtual hologram, if you will. I suppose this is a simple way to express it. But that is a critical area where 5G's low latency is essential, right? I mean, this goes beyond just exceptional gaming experiences. Or a AR/VR experience and interaction. This could be a critical business need.
Derek Peterson 15:01
It could be very exciting opportunity for us all.
Tyler Suiters 15:05
Where does AI (Artificial Intelligence) as a horizontal, not a vertical. But where does AI play into the future of 5G? Is it an enabler? Is it a beneficiary? Or maybe it's both?
Derek Peterson 15:18
I think it's both, we're taking advantage of AI. One of the things I always talk about is, the precursor to AI, for artificial intelligence was automation. So, automation enabled us to be able to see things and be able to automate those things. AI takes that a step further, where it's artificial autonomy. So once we get to that level where our networks are adjusting automatically to the changes in the environment. One of the challenges we deal with constantly in our networks is, we built some networks and airports, for example. You all of a sudden have 300 people getting on or off and playing all around one access point or one node, and then they're gone.
So do you end up building out a network so that all the time you have that capacity is there? Or do you build an autonomous network that ends up providing that capacity when it's needed for those 300 people about ready to get on the plane. Then it adjusts automatically back down to the 20 or the 10 people that are afterwards. So that AI or that autonomy, is very important for the future of both 5G as well as for enabling the networks that we need to enable.
Tyler Suiters 16:43
Let me rain it back in just a little bit. Now, in terms of what's possible in the potential into a little bit more of the immediate future. Are you comfortable making a prediction or an educated guess as to when 5G will arrive? You probably put a more scientific term on it. But when it's here, when it's accepted and when it's broadly used?
Derek Peterson 17:08
It really depends on the definition for 5G. I think that we're seeing some of the aspects of these enhanced immersive experiences today. There's a lot of locations where we're seeing that connectivity and the desire to do that happening. So you're ordering food from your seat and cameras that keep track. And you say, "Hey I'm about ready to finish that drink or that food that I have" and it's automatically reordering for you, the next round. There's some of those immersive things happening today. But I think it's really beyond 2020, when we start really taking advantage of that. And moving beyond that. One of the goals is to make sure that there is complete nationwide coverage by 2020. I think it starts first with coverage. Then it moves from coverage into developing those immersive experiences. There's going to be a lot of new innovative things coming out and like you said earlier, that are going to really pioneer this new technology. Just like we saw what happened in 2007, when the iPhone was introduced or our smartphones were introduced and it pioneered this evolution. Or revolution of connectivity.
Tyler Suiters 18:36
Dr. Derek Peterson is Chief Technology Officer at Boingo Wireless. A lot to be excited about here. Derek, thanks so much for your time today.
Derek Peterson 18:47
I appreciate your time too. Have a great day.
Tyler Suiters 18:52
So here at CTA, we take a lot of pride in how well we take sharp, crisp pictures of what is going on right now today in the technology marketplace. But if I may say so, we're also pretty darn good at looking into the future. What is going to happen? What's on the way? And I think it's safe to say 5G is right between those two points, the present and the future. And joining us now to talk about that is our Vice President of Market Research, Steve Koenig. Steve, I don't know how we managed to catch you when you're not on your global travels but I'm glad you're with us today.
Steve Koenig 19:23
Happy to be here.
Tyler Suiters 19:24
Alright so 5G as I said, it's about to be present and it's very much going to be a part of the future. Give us an overview right now, where are we? What are we looking at with 5G and this is admittedly something that consumers probably aren't thinking about much.
Steve Koenig 19:40
Well, one thing that consumers are thinking about a lot, is the performance of their data connection on their smartphones and so forth. So I think they're going to be really keen to upgrade to all the promise of 5G but, that's really just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There's so much more when it comes to 5G and I think it's helpful to just maybe back up a little bit and just review. Like, what is 5G and why is it so important? Because it's much more than just the next generation in mobile broadband.
Tyler Suiters 20:21
Right, and I think that's a great place to start, Steve. And we talk about the promise, I'm going to put this very much in layman's terms, that I can understand. We're talking about ridiculously fast speeds compared to what we're used to. And much lower latency. Alright so two pronged effect, but that then spreads out across the industry. So I'll let you pick it up from there now that I've given a 30,000 foot view.
Steve Koenig 20:44
Yeah, and in addition to faster speeds and lower latency. Also greater capacity. And so attaching these kind of guide words of 5G to a lot of the super cool technologies that we love to talk about. I mean, you need lower latency for innovative technologies like self driving vehicles. In fact, I'd revise that to no latency. We don't want them to hesitate for a second. And just thinking about, the millions upon millions of nodes that we already have on the wireless network today. When you think about smart cities, connected infrastructure and so forth. We're going to double down on that dynamic. So we're going to need the greater capacity that 5G renders. And the faster speed piece, is where the rubber meets the road. Like for consumers when they want to download a full season of whatever show from Netflix or something like that.
Tyler Suiters 21:42
Well, I vote for Game of Thrones. But yes, whatever show you choose is fine, double down as a term you say.
Tyler Suiters 21:50
To be clear though the data that will be generated by that doubling down, it's going to be exponential? If you get one smart city online, and you are taking real time input from; pedestrians, from cars, from traffic lights, from weather patterns, from energy input & output, water usage or whatever it might be. 5G isn't necessarily a luxury? This is going to have to be a bedrock necessity for these things to function.
Steve Koenig 22:16
Yeah, I call it a key ingredient technology. Just like any kind of culinary recipe you've got, if you're baking a cake you're going to need flower. Unless you're making a flour-less cake. But that's beside the point. Yes, it's going to be a key ingredient. As we look into the future, pretty much into the next decade. When technologies like self driving vehicles, when we have greater traction around smart cities. Another way to think about it. It's almost like a prerequisite, we really need this technology for these innovations to truly advance into the marketplace.
Tyler Suiters 22:53
So smart driving, self driving vehicles, smart cities, advancements in resilience, advancements in sports technology in terms of stadiums and mass events. What else do you see mixed in there? What will be the products of 5G? If that's the key ingredient?
Steve Koenig 23:13
Well, we've touched on a number of them and the list is very long. So I don't want to use too much time, just counting all the ways that 5G is going to help. Here's what I think is really important, is that if you think about all the disruptive innovation that we've witnessed in today's 4G LTE world. Think about innovative services like Lyft, Uber and Airbnb. It's hard to imagine a service like Uber or Lyft, operating in a 3G world. I mean, you'd almost have to summon your ride a day before you need it.
Tyler Suiters 23:53
"Here's where I was. This is the restaurant where I needed you to pick me up 15 minutes ago."
Steve Koenig 23:55
Exactly. So therefore, this is what's important. I think about 5G, just given the the wealth of disruptive innovation that we witness in a 4G world. Imagine the kind of disruptive innovation that will be possible in a 5G world. With all that speed, all that capacity and almost no latency. It truly is going to be a wonder to the hold. And that's what makes it so exciting to talk about. Even though yes, we're talking about the fifth generation in wireless connectivity. It's not just about faster downloads on your phone. Yes it is that but, so much more. And there's so much that we're not even talking about right now. But we will.
Tyler Suiters 24:42
One of the benefits you get Steve from your very cool position besides crunching all these numbers and having an excellent team.
Steve Koenig 24:49
That's very cool crunching numbers.
Tyler Suiters 24:51
For those of us who don't crunch well, maybe it is cool. But you also get the opportunity to talk to key players in the markets regularly. What they're seeing right now, what they're expecting. What is the corporate view that you see around 5G and those conversations?
Steve Koenig 25:08
Well I think generally, industry is very keen for all the reasons that we've been discussing because it's going to enable a lot of various technologies. Either at a personal level, or like we've established city wide. And the carriers themselves the Verizons, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and so forth. They're all quite keen on this as well. In fact, we're already starting to see activity in the marketplace on that front. Not just here in the US, but elsewhere in the world like South Korea, in China and so forth. So it's important to also mention that 5G isn't just a U.S. thing. I mean, this is a real global initiative. But it is coming back to the U.S. It is very interesting to see the these are moves because now finally, although we've been talking about 5G for a couple of years now. We're finally seeing it manifest in the U.S. market.
Tyler Suiters 26:11
When you talk about global leadership and the rest of the world. Is it safe to say would you agree Steve that it's China, South Korea and United States. In terms of the leaders plural, but that China probably has a little edge on the U.S. and South Korea. In terms of where the race to 5G stands right now?
Steve Koenig 26:32
Well, first of all add Japan to the list because they've attached a number of initiatives. Again, that 5G is kind of behind related to the 2020 Tokyo games. So add Japan to that list. You know, it is somewhat of a horse race. But I think all countries are very well positioned. And I don't really think it matters. Like, who gets there first. Like I said, I mean there are services stood up now in the U.S. market by Verizon and AT&T for 5G. So it's less important, like who gets there first and so forth. Really, it's what our country is doing to allow this technology to come to market at a consumer level at an enterprise level. But related to China, what's interesting there is again, thinking 5G as a key ingredient technology for a lot of other things with their command economy if they want something to happen, it's going to happen. And that's not true here in our democracy. We have a lot of debate about this and there are regulations and so forth. So that's where maybe China might have some edge. Is expediting the innovations thereof from 5G. But let's wait and see because, I think America is definitely committed to maintaining its leadership in a number of ways. Like I said, 5G's already up and running in different spots around the country.
Tyler Suiters 28:07
All right, so in that vein Steve, pulling the chronological scope a lot closer to us. Maybe looking out to 2019? What are you projecting as far as 5G products hitting the market and maybe that's not the right term. I'm thinking more of where the corporate perspective is becoming a touch point for us as consumers.
Steve Koenig 28:28
Sure. So deployments are already starting to take shape and that only going to expand in 2019. It's really across three fronts. One is the the consumer or mobile front, one is more like nomadic access. What that means is like different hotspots. Then third is, fixed wireless broadband. Which is basically a fixed antenna in the home that picks up 5G signals, which extensively can be a replacement for existing wired or fiber home broadband connections. To me, that's really significant because what we're talking about here is a solution to bridging the digital divide. Because it's just not economically feasible to run cable or fiber up into the mountains or way out into the rural countryside. 5G has the potential to kind of just ameliorate that problem. So right now we're starting to see deployments across those fronts here in the US.
Tyler Suiters 29:36
So that gets into a key element of this, anywhere, anytime, connectivity. We as consumers demand it more than ever, we as municipalities, counties or states. Need it potentially more than ever. Part of it is civic, right? The city aspects that we talked about, part of it is personal preference. But then there's also an economic aspect, I'm thinking about us as consumers where you need these to work, you need these to be not just employed, but employable to learn the skills, to exhibit the skills and to find out where your skills are needed.
Steve Koenig 30:11
Yes, and so 5G is a key ingredient for a long list of innovative technologies. Self driving vehicles, as one of the bigger ones, but also a key ingredient for an innovation lead economy. That ties back to what I said, thinking about all the disruptive innovation we've seen in a 4G world. Just imagine with a robust 5G network up and running across America. What kind of new business models and services? What kind of job opportunities will be rendered more uniformly and greater homogeneity across, instead of just in more urban areas? It's really exciting to think about and I think it will very much help America maintain its leadership edge on the global stage.
Tyler Suiters 31:04
So paint that picture for us Steve, based on your experience and we're here in Washington, D.C. but you are from deep in the heart of Texas. A gentleman rancher, if you will. But all kidding aside, you spent time in rural Texas. So when you talk about the digital divide the need for connectivity, the opportunities it brings. Talk about how you see this changing life there, where your family's ranches are in Texas and what that means for folks out there.
Steve Koenig 31:36
Yeah, in a lot of cases, your only chance to get broadband connectivity is satellite and a lot of these places in Texas, in Nebraska and a lot of rural places. So 5G has the potential to make that go away. But just thinking about all the benefits of connectivity and the fact that so many business decisions, so many consumer choices today are made with data and data behind that. You've got to have this connection. So I'm thinking the combines in the field are connected and that's going back to a database that is analyzing the inputs or outputs. However, you want to think about it from the field and so forth, that it's GPS, maybe it's self-driving itself. That's where you have greater automation. That leads to greater benefits for the farmer, that can think more critically. Drones, you know that these technologies, all this. That's why I say it's such a key ingredient that is going to make a lot of things possible in a lot of places that today it's a real challenge.
Tyler Suiters 32:53
So what is a big challenge, and I'm going to keep using that ranch example. Now that you're actively ranching. Or a rancher sir, but I know it's in the family background, the Koenig family.
Tyler Suiters 33:04
What will this enable, that you don't have today? Down there again, just stretching out this example a bit further. Is it better mitigation for bad weather patterns? Is it stronger tracking, and therefore better production of your head of cattle? What do you say?
Steve Koenig 33:21
Well, that's another thing, thinking about just how things are done today. It's very analog, because it has to be because Why? Well, because you can't get a signal in a lot of places, or a very good one or a reliable one. Not just farming or ranching or oil production or anything like that. I mean, you need reliable connections and so forth. And when you have that, that introduces a whole host of other benefits. And that introduces greater efficiencies, better choices and maybe speed to market products. Right now, it's a lot of landline. It's a lot of pencil to paper. Again, greater automation. That's why I say this automation and robust connectivity, it is not and it should not be just a benefit for urban areas. But for everywhere. And what all that sums up to, is greater economic output for the U.S. and keeps us at the vanguard of innovation globally.
Tyler Suiters 34:35
So I ride all over your market research departments ability to look into the future with accuracy, with excitement and with enthusiasm. Among the sectors that we hear so much about regarding the benefits of 5G moving forward. Industrial, automotive, you touched on Telecom, healthcare as well. Putting on your futurist's cap, is there a sector out there that you're especially excited about? That, you see vast transformation or vast opportunity? Maybe more so than the others?
Steve Koenig 35:06
Well, I think you touched on one that I would also highlight and that's health. Just with the the faster speed and lower latency, just thinking about healthcare and a physician expert, maybe a surgeon can't be in four places at once obviously. So with 5G and robotic operating systems and so forth. That surgeon could perform extensively complex procedures on patients located in four different cities across the U.S. from his office, if you like, all in the same day or her office, or her office. That's right. So that's just another example. And that's exciting and then just greater access potentially to health, telemedicine, and feeding in various metrics for the greater good or just an individual patient. These, are some really big benefits that 5G will help make possible and just underscores the whole dynamic of tech for good.
Tyler Suiters 36:20
So I would argue, Steve, that at CES every year you are one of a handful of people that knows the ins and outs of the coolest technology to see. The most cutting-edge technology. The game changing innovations, perhaps better than anyone because you spend so much time navigating the floor. Where does 5G apply at CES? Where are you looking? What are the touch points that you're tracking?
Steve Koenig 36:46
Right. Well I'm also by the way, one of the people with the source feed at CES, I think in a lot of ways. Yeah so 5G.
Tyler Suiters 36:52
You do awfully well in our team walking challenge. The daily step count.
Steve Koenig 36:57
So it's overlaying North Hall for automotive, with self-driving vehicles. It's overlaying in Central Hall. I think very similar to AI, in that it's popping up pretty much everywhere.
Tyler Suiters 37:19
It's a horizontal category.
Steve Koenig 37:20
It's a very horizontal category. And that's a great visualization. I think a very appropriate way to think about 5G. And as an other ingredient technologies like AI, that these are horizontal and orientation. Not necessarily vertically aligned. So I think attendees of CES 2019 will bump into 5G a lot of different places. I think a lot of different services brands will be talking about it. I expect to hear more on partnership fronts and more news around deployment of different technologies like self-driving vehicles. As we get greater visibility to where these 5G networks will start to spring up in earnest around the country. But I also want to point out that with 5G, this is going to be a process. This isn't like an overnight, crews go out and do a bunch of work and then sun comes up. And all of a sudden we've got 5G nationwide.
Tyler Suiters 38:24
Right, we don't just talk talking about being there, with a capital T.
Steve Koenig 38:27
Exactly. So this is going to take several years, and it's going to be an unfolding saga. So I think CES is the touchpoint for the latest update on 5G and what's happening in the coming 12 months. That'll be a narrative that unfolds out into the next decade.
Tyler Suiters 38:49
I want to wrap up Steve with one more example from you, about excitement. About the touch point for consumers. You have a football club that you follow passionately, I will let you briefly sketch your passion for them.
Steve Koenig 39:05
Wow. Well my football club's Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves in the English Premier League. Well I've been following them for several years. But it's been tough, right? Because I don't live in England and so I've tried in various ways to stay connected with the club and watch them. Usually online, through different services and so forth. I'm passionate about Wolves, and this is another reason why I'm passionate about 5G because I think that that will help me stay connected with my club. Watch the games. It'll have the greater capacity so maybe that'll be in 8K. These are some of the exciting things that I'm looking forward to, on the sports front with my club.
Tyler Suiters 39:51
Yeah, that's exactly where I'm going Steve. You are able to enrich your experience, not just as a sense of improving what's already they're that you will have less or no latency when you're streaming that game live? Or you can check on them, whether you're here on an exceptionally you know, hotspot-enabled office or you're out somewhere around the world on your business travels and connectivity might not be that great. It will get better and better. But there are also new things that are coming in, this will this will enable you again. Just in the sense of one fan, of one Premier League club several thousand miles away. But that's a touch point for consumers, that you can really touch and taste and feel, if you will.
Steve Koenig 40:33
Yeah, so in some ways maybe 5G helps make the world a lot smaller.
Tyler Suiters 40:39
And maybe the Wolves a lot better.
Steve Koenig 40:41
Yeah, a lot better as well.
Tyler Suiters 40:42
Steve, looking forward to walking the halls together at CES coming up. Thanks for your time and expertise.
Steve Koenig 40:47
Likewise, thank you.
Tyler Suiters 40:50
Alright, next week we are diving into the constantly evolving world of ad tech. So we'll talk to a journalist about where ad tech is heading in the media landscape and also how it's changing that platform delivery, advertising, etc. Also one company that is very much staying ahead of the changes, not just where ad tech is right now, but where it will be in years to come. That's all next week on CES Tech Talk. Thank you so much for joining us. And reminder, you'll want to subscribe to our podcast that way you can catch every single episode as we lead up to CES 2019. And that includes all the episodes will bring you from the show floor in Las Vegas. On that topic, CES 2019 is January 8-11, and the information you need to attend and register and find out what's going on is all on our website, CES.tech that's CES.tech. I am just sitting here talking into a microphone. The real stars of the show are with me in studio. Thank you both so much our excellent producer, Tina Anthony and outstanding engineer John Lindsey. You all make this thing go. And thanks so much for joining us. You make us go too, in a way. I'm Tyler Suiters. Let's talk tech again soon.