InterDigital Insights for 2025

With a new year ahead of us, InterDigital experts Milind Kulkarni, Head of Wireless Lab, Lionel Oisel, Head of Video Lab, and Jaideep Chandrashekar, Head of AI Lab, share their predictions for the trends and milestones in 2025.

What's in store for wireless in 2025?

Milind Kulkarni, Head of Wireless Labs

1. 5G deployments will continue with revenue focus. Operators around the world invested billions of dollars to fund the deployment and development of 5G infrastructure with the hope to eventually secure significant ROI. Operators like T-Mobile have announced new revenue as a result of their fixed wireless access (FWA) offerings made possible by 5G. Many U.S. and European operators are increasingly deploying 5G networks with standalone core networks. These deployments are creating new business opportunities as new features like Reduced Capacity Devices and Network Slicing become available to provide specialized service for specific verticals with specific use cases. Looking towards 2025 and beyond, we can expect growth in 5G revenue to come from vertical and enterprise use cases, in addition to consumer applications.

2. Shaping the role of AI in wireless standards. In 2025, AI is set to play a transformative role in wireless technologies as it is integrated into 3GPP wireless standards. These standards are increasingly focused on AI-driven innovations to enhance network efficiency, reliability, and user experience. Among the developments for AI in wireless include the use of AI for dynamic spectrum management, predictive network maintenance, and intelligent energy optimization. Going forward, AI will be leveraged as not only a tool but a fundamental element of wireless communication that enables more efficient and precise use of wireless resources.

3. 6G will begin to take shape. Pre-standards research into the technologies and features that will eventually define 6G began as early as 2019. 2025 will be a pivotal juncture between advanced research and the development of standardized technologies. In particular, wireless standards body 3GPP will host a workshop in March to begin selection of study items that will help determine how the 6G system architecture, radio interface, core network, and other aspects of the 6G ecosystem will take shape. We also expect to see additional ongoing research into the evolution of 5G features and new features under consideration, which include integrated AI, ubiquitous connectivity, and integrated sensing and communication (ISAC).

4. Wi-Fi enhancements target reliability. There are several advancements in Wi-Fi technology expected in 2025, driven by ongoing developments in IEEE 802.11 standards. Wi-Fi 7 is set to enhance wireless connectivity with features that offer faster speeds, lower latency, and greater capacity for managing multiple connections simultaneously. We expect that the Wi-Fi 7 standard will become commercially available in 2025, amidst ongoing work to welcome the next generation standard, Wi-Fi 8 or IEEE 802.11bn. This upcoming standard prioritizes ultra-high reliability, low latency, and seamless mobility for the myriad IoT and devices that shape our connected ecosystem.

What can we expect for video in 2025?

Lionel Oisel, Head of Video Labs

5. Tuning into the streaming revolution. The streaming industry is poised for significant evolution in 2025, driven by technological advancements and shifting consumer preferences. Streaming platforms will increasingly leverage AI and machine learning to deliver hyper-personalized content and adaptive user interfaces to enhance user engagement and retention. Innovations in Ultra HD, 4K, and even 8K formats and deployments of improved video compression standards like HEVC and VVC will continue to optimize video quality while reducing bandwidth, whether audiences are streaming live content or immersed in interactive entertainment.

6. Advancements in immersive video compression. 2025 will continue the evolution of 2D and immersive video content and experiences, especially through innovations in point cloud and mesh compression that empower the efficient handling of 3D video data. For example, HEVC Multiview is a video codec implemented by Apple on the Vision Pro headset to support the first immersive natural content, and we expect more immersive and volumetric video codecs will likely gain traction. In fact, InterDigital is a long-time contributor to the MPEG MESH compression standard, and we look forward to its release in 2025.

7. Touching new potential for haptics. With the MPEG Haptics standard finalized, we will see haptic capabilities considered within other application standards. For example, haptics has been identified as a focus area for the 3GPP SA4 working group, which is responsible for studying codecs for speech, audio, graphics, and the delivery of media over mobile networks. 2025 will likely see increased collaboration between research and innovation entities and equipment manufacturers alongside demonstrations of new haptic devices and use cases.

What's ahead for AI in 2025?

Jaideep Chandrashekar, Head of AI Labs

8. Realizing more tangible benefits of AI. While more complex applications of AI continue to be researched and explored, in the near term we expect to see AI used extensively to reduce the total cost of network operations. We expect more mobile operators will use AI to predict workloads, proactively manage power consumption by turning devices off when not in use, and by shifting some of their workload into the cloud - the gains in operational savings will be notable. More importantly, in 2025 we expect to see greater experimentation with AI across layers of the wireless stack as operators gain valuable experience and insight into how AI tools can be integrated into various operational processes.

9. AI critical to managing abundance of video data. We expect the proportion of video traffic to increase with new devices, formats, and modalities, including video destined for head mounted displays, high resolution content beyond 4K, and immersive video streams augmented with haptic or other sensory information. AI will be integral in the processing and distribution of this content. Furthermore, in 2025 and beyond we expect a significant portion of this video traffic will be generated and processed by machines and AI algorithms, requiring a new form of video compression for machines.