BROADBAND COMMUNITIES is the leading source of information on digital and broadband technologies for buildings and communities. Our editorial aims to accelerate the deployment of Fiber-To-The-Home and Fiber-To-The-Premises.
Issue link: https://bbcmag.epubxp.com/i/232134
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Economic Development in Brief A summary of new research fndings, case studies and innovations relating to broadband's efects on economic growth and development. GE: Broadband-Enabled Productivity Gains Have Barely Begun I n its brief existence, the Internet has created digital products and services that never existed before. It has made markets more efcient by slashing information costs. It has reduced the need for travel and shipping. It has lowered the cost for workers to upgrade their skills. But, to quote the great Al Jolson, you ain't seen nothing yet. Today, ultra-broadband is converging with cloud computing, arrays of lowcost sensors and controllers, and tools for analyzing big data. Tis convergence makes possible what GE calls the "industrial Internet" – a set of platforms and applications that will allow companies to control equipment remotely and aim for zero unplanned equipment outages. Airlines, railroads, hospitals, utilities and manufacturers will be able to manage and operate machines such as jet engines, CT scanners and gas turbines in the cloud, moving from a reactive to a predictive industrial operating model. GE forecasts that this will ultimately allow companies to solve problems in new ways and yield such results as highly accurate health care treatments and extreme levels of energy efciency. One recent analysis estimates that the industrial Internet will create $1.3 trillion in annual value by 2020, with a 149 percent return on investment for industrial Internet applications. Another says this 104 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com new wave of innovation could boost global GDP by as much as $10 to 15 trillion over the next 20 years through accelerated productivity growth. Source: "The Industrial Internet@Work," by Marco Annunziata and Peter C. Evans, GE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013