For Better or Metaverse?

I am sure you have heard about the Metaverse by now. It is being touted as a logical merger of our physical and virtual worlds that promises to deliver an exceptional personalized user experience across Industries. Indeed, several big-name companies in the world have already launched their presence on the metaverse! It certainly appears to be a development worth keeping an eye on in the near future.

However, before we accept the Metaverse for all that it promises to deliver, let’s have a look at some of the things that will have to fall in place in order to even venture onto the metaverse let alone use it! Take the technology backbone for starters. The Metaverse will require higher internet bandwidth meaning 5g networks rather than the existing 4g networks. So the question that follows is exactly how many countries in the world are 5g ready now? Take a look at the below infographic to understand the current status of global 5g availability provided by Statista.

By varying estimates, the 5g global coverage is expected to be about 40-50% by 2027. It is obvious that the technology backbone – 5g network presence and connectivity speed are real roadblocks as of now. Given the current gloomy Global economic environment, it would be logical to expect that new network deployments could be put on hold for a few quarters, thus leading to geographically restricted rollouts for the Metaverse.

Besides technological aspects, there are other issues that need to be addressed, such as Data Privacy, Cyberbullying, and other crimes. These can and will likely be addressed by the tech teams involved in the structuring of the offerings on the Metaverse. However, the following concerns need to be addressed urgently before moving further;

1. Since the Metaverse is likely to be treated as a virtual world, what set of laws will govern the Metaverse?

2. Will countries and the big tech companies work together and create a joint framework as they do for the hardware and software protocols?

3. What kind of grievance resolution framework would be available to the different stakeholders who engage in the Metaverse?

It’s obvious to see folks trying to address the technical aspects of the Metaverse currently. However, the above-mentioned issues would come to the centre stage very soon in my opinion. Political leaders and business leaders must take cognizance of these issues, and work together to shape the dialogue, build consensus, and form policy-making committees to ensure that the Metaverse evolves as a wholesome platform, creating vast economic & other tangible as well as intangible benefits for all stakeholders. The Metaverse, in my opinion should not be simply treated as one company’s property!