The goal is for next generation mobile standards related to “5G” technology to be ready by 2020. That’s the deadline for when the International Telecommunications Union is expected to set standards many claim will enable a seamlessly connected society, one where every “thing” is part of a larger system of internet-enabled devices. The impending standards are expected to help realize what is, to many, only a vague phrase with unlimited possibility: the “internet of things.” Variations of this technology will use physical sensors and actuators to create a worldwide spiderweb of information being sent to the ever-growing cloud whose shade continues to expand.