Today, with more than 80% of Americans subscribed to a broadband internet service, a life without internet is nearly unthinkable. While the core priorities of connectivity—latency, capacity, and availability—remain constant, the demand for performance has skyrocketed. To understand how businesses can keep up with uncompromising consumer expectations, we turned to Roshin Unnikrishnan, Senior Director of Growth and Revenue Operations at Cisco, who shared his insights on the state of networking and connectivity and what lies ahead for millions of users worldwide.
Core Demands Meet New Applications
“Most users today, especially those who didn’t experience the early days of dial-up, come with high expectations,” says Unnikrishnan. “And those expectations have quickly become industry standards, pushing the entire industry to adapt.” Applications like autonomous vehicles, remote surgeries, and a massive wave of IoT devices require extremely low latency, measured in milliseconds. At the same time, the explosion of video streaming and hybrid work has driven throughput demands to record levels, while coverage needs have expanded well beyond urban centers.
Wi-Fi, however, remains the dominant choice for wireless connectivity, with a staggering 4.1 billion Wi-Fi devices shipped in 2024 alone. “We can confidently call it a staple technology now, and it’s expected to be available and supported everywhere,” Unnikrishnan notes. Wi-Fi’s versatility and ease of use have solidified its role across both consumer and industrial sectors. With Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 expanding into the 6 GHz spectrum, its capabilities are set to stretch even further with multigigabit speeds, low latency, and greater reliability. But, as Unnikrishnan points out, “While expectations keep rising, we need to meet them with robust security. Connectivity without security is pointless.”
Rising Expectations and Evolving Industry Standards
Heightened geopolitical tensions, corporate espionage, and evolving cyber threats have made network security essential for maintaining both customer trust and business continuity. “‘Securing the network’ used to mean protecting data, but now it’s about preserving relationships and ensuring uninterrupted operations,” Unnikrishnan explains.
AI’s role in networking is also transforming the way networks are managed. By 2027, 90% of enterprises are expected to automate network operations using AI capabilities. “It’s streamlining network management and addressing much of the overhead that previously slowed us down. The telecom industry hasn’t hesitated to adopt it,” says Unnikrishnan. AI-driven automation now enables real-time adjustments to changing performance needs, supporting advanced use cases such as autonomous vehicles, extended reality (XR), and edge computing.
Unnikrishnan also points to the growing market share of satellite providers like Starlink, which are broadening the definition of connectivity by delivering coverage to underserved areas. “There’s an understanding now that localized networks won’t meet today’s range and density expectations,” he observes. Satellite solutions are bridging gaps in resilience across diverse environments, while homes increasingly leverage mesh networks and hotspots for more consistent coverage.
Meanwhile, the data generated by businesses has put new demands on data centers. “Currently, centralization and codependency are the biggest risks in data storage,” Unnikrishnan explains. “But factors like liquid cooling and facility size, as well as global regulations around sustainability, make data centers a complex geopolitical issue as much as an operational one.” He explains that events like mechanical failures or political turbulence can trigger massive outages, highlighting the need for resilient data infrastructure. But some of these changes may need to occur closer to home.
U.S. Leadership in Innovation, Standards, and Supply Chain Security
Given the competitive global market, connectivity innovation has grown into something bigger than a technology issue. “We’re at a point where innovation in connectivity is a national concern,” Unnikrishnan emphasizes. Sustained innovation is essential to maintain U.S. leadership in connectivity, especially amid rising geopolitical pressures. “For decades, the U.S. has led the development of connectivity standards, but that leadership is at risk if we lose sight of these discussions.”
Securing the supply chain for critical hardware components is just as essential. “Controlling the supply chain end-to-end, ideally through nearshoring, helps ensure availability, mitigates many of the dependencies and, consequently, risks,” he notes. “Self-sufficiency will become incredibly important in the years ahead.” Policies like the CHIPS Act represent promising steps toward a resilient supply chain, ensuring local innovation and security for the connectivity infrastructure.
What the Future Holds for Connectivity
Looking to the future, Unnikrishnan predicts that connectivity demands will continue to rise. “The future of connectivity will introduce new expectations: smarter, more personalized experiences, which require higher throughput and low latency to accommodate user data. But sustainability will also be a priority, and that requires careful planning,” he shares.
And as connectivity infrastructure has grown, so has its environmental impact. The carbon footprint of data centers and networking equipment has become a major concern, and future connectivity solutions will need to balance performance with energy efficiency. Sustainability initiatives in connectivity, such as energy-efficient network equipment and low-power data centers, are becoming more mainstream as organizations strive to reduce their carbon footprint. But the effort works in both directions: 5G-enabled technologies are forecasted to contribute 20% towards the U.S.’s 2030 emission reduction targets.
Advancements in AI and quantum computing will also reshape network administration. “Network administration is one of the biggest optimization opportunities for AI,” Unnikrishnan explains. Quantum computing, though still in its early stages, has the potential to transform encryption and data processing, laying the groundwork for a more secure and efficient network infrastructure.
The Future of Networking & Connectivity
Unnikrishnan emphasizes that the evolution of networking and connectivity has implications that reach beyond technology. “Connectivity is often taken for granted—especially secure connectivity,” he explains. “But in an increasingly tense world, that assumption may no longer hold up. We need to consider the potential impact of large-scale disruptions or security compromises, particularly as critical infrastructure in sectors like power, healthcare, and air travel still relies on vulnerable, outdated networks.”
To ensure a resilient future, Unnikrishnan calls for policymakers, businesses, and consumers alike to approach connectivity with renewed urgency, recognizing its vital role in both daily life and in building a more secure, interconnected world.
