Connectivity Technology Blog

Traditional communication networks have largely been designed around a two dimensional view of the world. Base stations are deployed across cities and rural areas, creating coverage footprints that expand horizontally across the landscape. While this approach has supported the growth of mobile communications for decades, the increasing demand for connectivity everywhere is pushing the industry to rethink how networks are designed and operated. The concept of a three dimensional communication network is emerging as a response to this challenge. Instead of relying only on terrestrial infrastructure, future networks are expected to integrate connectivity layers that exist on the ground, in the air and in space. By combining these layers into a unified architecture, it becomes possible to provide seamless coverage across environments that are currently difficult to serve. A 3D communication network brings together several different types of platforms. Traditional ground based cellular netw...

In May 2025, theNetworkingChannel brought together a panel of leading researchers for a deep technical discussion on underwater communications and networks . Organised by Marco Ajmone Marsan of IMDEA Networks Institute and Politecnico di Torino, the webinar explored how connectivity can be extended into one of the most challenging environments on Earth, the underwater domain. The session highlighted not only how far the field has progressed, but also why underwater networking remains fundamentally different from the terrestrial and satellite systems that dominate today’s connectivity landscape.  The discussion opened by setting the context for underwater communications as an enabling technology for ocean observation, industrial operations and autonomous systems. From seabed sensors and autonomous underwater vehicles to surface buoys and gateways linking back to shore, the vision is of a heterogeneous network that spans the seabed, the water column and the surface. Cabled connection...