Reading Time: 7 minutes
In the last decade, mobile service providers, device makers and Internet companies built a virtual second world for us to live, work and play in - a digital one. At the start of this new decade, Telenor Group's research arm believes that people will reflect more on how our real world and this new digital reality should safely and productively intersect.
Many of the trends we spotlight for next year show innovation charging ahead faster than ever, enabled by more access and more demand, as well as by revolutionary new tech platforms and sociopolitical forces, says Bj rn Taale Sandberg, Head of Telenor Research.
At the same time, Sandberg adds, other trends suggest we are having a common technological epiphany, a kind of digital realisation. People are waking up and examining how and where technologies, including AI, Machine Learning, IoT, and new network innovations will best and most securely connect them with the people and things that matter most. The world of technology isn't a place that can be defined by a single storyline, it's our job to understand the larger sometimes contradicting contexts we live in - in both of our worlds - and then to home in on the most important developments that could reshape our lives.
Here are the 20 trends that point to an exciting, chaotic and complex 2020:
Green innovations go beyond hype and get real Reusable shopping bags, plastic straw bans and flight shaming have been the causes du jour among the Instagram Influencer set, but big picture in 2020, no one will be satisfied with empty words, greenwashing or drop-in-the-bucket efforts anymore. In 2020, we will see green innovations go beyond the hype, using combinations of IoT, big data and AI tech to measure consumption, reduce demand and significantly reduce carbon footprints while cutting costs and building new revenue streams. This action comes as a result of consumers, investors, purchasers in the business world and employees demanding that we get our act together.
The telco industry will be a crucial foundation of the future economy and can drive real change across multiple sectors in society, in collaboration with its suppliers, investors and customers. Telcos can encourage their equipment vendors, IoT hardware and mobile phone manufacturers to commit to higher climate ambitions, by using recycled raw materials, responsible minerals provisioning, renewable power, new modes of transportation and sustainable packaging.
Moving into 2030; businesses, particularly in Europe, will move toward sourcing 100 percent renewable electricity, laying the foundation of climate neutral business operations. And for consumers, mobile services will continue to provide the capacity for individuals to access apps and services that will drive more widespread and effective green habits wherever they are. Finally, in the tech space, we'll see increasingly generous public and private financing for green startups and scale-ups. What will drive successful green cases in business? A combination of sustainable business models, availability of data, digital competence and strong leadership.
A growing internet of connected health, medical and communications devices - attached to our bodies The term, Internet of things (IoT) has been given copious column inches in recent years, particularly in the business, tech and trade press. But sensors on shipping containers, manufacturing systems and agriculture infrastructure, while broadly impactful, aren't relatable to the everyday tech user. But 2020 promises to bring all of this much, much closer to home. If you thought that people and mobile technology were already more or less attached at the hip , well, be prepared to be taken literally. This next year will see the Internet of Bodies become a much bigger thing.
Today and even more so starting next year, we are connecting our bodies through a host of monitors that measure blood pressure, blood oxygen, activity, heart rate, arrhythmia and even snoring. And in 2020 we will see the first applications that go beyond just monitoring and into actual auto-interventions. One such example is insulin pumps. A large community of patients and health advocates, We are Not Waiting , have pushed the frontier for a long time, and in 2020, we will see the first commercial systems closing the loop between reading blood sugar and delivering insulin to the body. Biohacks such as Elon Musk's Neuralink startup are still far from commercialization, but there are diseases and conditions that are costly and care intensive where the IoB will have great potential.
5G, IoT and AI will spur industry collaborations that share competence and co-create world-changing platforms 2019 was year 0 for commercial 5G launches. In 2020 we will see widespread launches in most developed economies. Mobile providers will put 5G's speed and capacity on centre stage, but the real innovations, and with them, sweeping societal changes, will come from behind the scenes where industries are getting together and mixing things up.
These innovations include network-slicing, with which business-critical systems can run unencumbered over the mobile internet. Or something called Network Function Virtualization (NFV), where network services can be developed by software, which will radically speed up how services are developed. With lower latency (meaning: no signal delays, everything in real-time) and a vastly higher number of IoT devices out in the world, emergency, eHealth, logistics, security systems and remote investigations will be enabled by quality networks that allow remote investigations using video, drones and sensors that securely transmit data.
2020 will mark the beginning of this innovation journey. Turning these opportunities into scalable innovations will require industries and governments
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
17/10/2025
HBO Max is reporting that it has launched in 15 new markets, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Macau, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Ukraine, boosting the streaming serv...
17/10/2025
Netflix said it will make a major push into video podcasts, inking a wide-ranging deal with Spotify through which it will offer 16 podcasts in the U.S. starting...
17/10/2025
Lexington, Ky. As part of a push to highlight its advanced advertising capabilities, Viamedia has launched a new AI-powered ad tech platform and officially rebr...
17/10/2025
NEW YORK QuickLink has announced the release of StudioPro Version 4, which the company is calling the most significant upgrade yet to its flagship video product...
17/10/2025
NEW YORK and CUPERTINO, Calif. Apple and NBCUniversal said they will sell Apple TV and Peacock streaming bundles to U.S. subscribers starting Oct. 20....
17/10/2025
Q&A with Boston Conservatory Choral Conductor Stephen Spinelli How his research into the lost manuscripts of composer Florence Price led to a Grammy-winning c...
16/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: FUJIFILM Execs on GFX ETERNA 55 Camera, Importance of Shallow-Dept...
16/10/2025
Squash's Most Ambitious Broadcast Production To Be Deployed at Comcast Busin...
16/10/2025
Main Street Sports Group Inks Deal With Omaha Productions, Launches Original-Con...
16/10/2025
A Historic Precursor? FIFA, HBS, DAZN Offer an Inside Look at Production of FIFA...
16/10/2025
Prime Video Offers Sneak Peak at New NBA on Prime StudioThe massive 13,000-sq-ft, two-story studio features a LED regulation half court and hoopBy Jason Dachman...
16/10/2025
SVG Remote Production Forum Draws Record Crowd for Visit to PGA TOUR Studios, De...
16/10/2025
BitFire's Ben Grafchik on How Growing Cloud Workflows Are Impacting the Live...
16/10/2025
AI technology is advancing quickly, bringing both new creative possibilities and...
16/10/2025
In 2017, Imani Ellis launched CultureCon, a conference that's become a must-attend event for more than 10,000 diverse creatives and Black professionals to c...
16/10/2025
It might still be a little early to break out the tinsel and mistletoe, but Spotify's already queuing up some holiday magic. This year's Spotify Singles...
16/10/2025
Earlier this year, our in-house publishing imprint, Spotify Audiobooks, put out ...
16/10/2025
VAMPIRE has been integrated onto GM Defenses Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV), providing a mobile solution to effectively and affordably counter small drone threat...
16/10/2025
The AgilePod mounted on the host aircraft....
16/10/2025
60% say infotainment systems are a critical purchasing or leasing consideration,...
16/10/2025
NEW YORK The Broadcasters Foundation of America has launched its 2025 Year-End Giving Campaign, which seeks to raise donations from tax-deductible personal and ...
16/10/2025
Roku has added several new features to its user interface and operating system meant to make it easier to discover and personalize content, the company said....
16/10/2025
NEW YORK CNN has announced that its All Access subscription tier will launch in the U.S. on Oct. 28, providing audiences with a centralized destination for CNN&...
16/10/2025
Student Spotlight: Alan Villanueva The graduate student and saxophonist, who performed on Natalia Lafourcades Latin Grammy-nominated Live at Carnegie Hall alb...
16/10/2025
The XR Sports Alliance (XRSA) has announced the third cohort of members. The new members include Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the Vegas Golden Kni...
16/10/2025
NEW YORK The Broadcasters Foundation of America has launched its 2025 Year-End Giving Campaign which seeks to raise donations from tax-deductible personal and c...
16/10/2025
NEW YORK Australia's Nine Network and the NHL today announced a media partnership that will bring the world's premier professional ice hockey league to ...
16/10/2025
Parks Associates has released new data showing that nearly half (45%) of U.S. internet homes watch free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services and 89% of U.S...
16/10/2025
TROY, Mich. -New data from J.D. Power's 2025 U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Study shows that residential wireless internet providers are growing...
16/10/2025
TV's most charming detective drama * Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investi...
16/10/2025
Back to All News
Thailand's Legendary Outlaw Returns: Tee Yai: Born to be ...
16/10/2025
Back to All News
Christmas Is Just Around The Corner: Home For Christmas Season...
16/10/2025
Back to All News
Trist n Ulloa Stars in El crimen de Pazos, the New Netflix Ser...
16/10/2025
ABS Completes Redomiciliation to Dubai Development Authority as Part of Strategi...
16/10/2025
This Saturday October 18 Katja Mia will burst onto the radio airwaves for the first time as she joins 2FM. Katja will be standing in for Bl thnaid Treacy on Sat...
16/10/2025
This October, RT is delighted to support Wexford Festival Opera, Babor International Arts Festival for Children, Open House Dublin and 36 other arts and cultu...
16/10/2025
GeForce NOW is more than just a platform to stream fresh games every week - it offers celebrations for the gamers who make it epic, with member rewards to sweet...
15/10/2025
Across the world, early-career reporters are interrogating systems that shape daily life, from mortuaries and classrooms to the corridors of legal education and...
15/10/2025
St. Louis Blues Pay Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in New Pregame Open VideoThe NHL franchise worked with production firms 2WEI and 4th Floor CreativeBy Mark J Burns,...
15/10/2025
Cobalt Digital, G3DVu, Proxima Vision, and Telos Alliance Renew Premier Sponsors...
15/10/2025
By Paige Bethmann
Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she'd been for a few weeks. When I arrived, the nurs...
15/10/2025
Two years ago, Spotify set out to grow the entire publishing industry by making ...
15/10/2025
People turn to DJ for a listening experience that feels personal, dynamic, and j...
15/10/2025
Las personas recurren a DJ para vivir una experiencia de escucha personal, din m...
15/10/2025
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen and luminary actor Jeremy Allen White came togethe...
15/10/2025
At Spotify, we're all about supporting rising talent and helping them connec...
15/10/2025
New SBS Documentary Series THE CANCER KILLERS Premieres 4 November on SBS & SBS ...
15/10/2025
SBS celebrates the Festivals of Lights with bold, illuminating stories across th...
Reading Time: 7 minutes
