This house believes that the future of innovation in the wireless industry is within the virtual rather than the physical world

Peter Day chairs a debate on the future of innovation in the wireless industry. Speaking for the motion, Ray Anderson says that the centre of gravity of innovation in the mobile industry has moved to the Internet and the Cloud. With the phenomenal success of mobile apps, along with on-line stores vending all-digital content, the device is becoming commoditised. A smart phone is a blank slate on to which Internet-speed startups and Web companies such as Facebook, Google and Twitter innovate. Most of the innovation in networks and devices is virtualized in software anyway. The future is all about applications, content and services, accessed whenever and wherever they are needed. Speaking against the motion, David Wood says that industry growth and value is cultivated and realized because of innovation in "actual" physical materials, hardware components, advanced chipsets, manufacturing expertise and elegant product design. Interacting with the physical world through sensors opens up significant new innovation fronts in areas such as wireless healthcare and the Internet of Things. Inherent, long-lasting value results from design, engineering and manufacturing expertise, the management of scarcity in areas such as radio spectrum and energy, and the expertise to manage complex network infrastructure. Players in the physical world will always have the key role in innovation.