The Amazon of IoT

Kenta Yasukawa Co-Founder and CTO, SORACOM, INC.

“When Amazon web services came onto the market, it stimulated cloud innovations in many industries. Today, AWS powers many major brands including Netflix, Spotify, Airbnb and Lyft. We’d like to become the Amazon equivalent for IoT.”

Interview by Abraham Joseph, Editorial Director, IOT Insights – 1 August 2017

What does SORACOM do?

We connect things to the cloud. Some people think IoT is about connecting things to the Internet, but essentially it is about connecting things to cloud services and making use of the intelligence implemented in the cloud. We provide the services to help developers do that.

What IoT developers want to do is to create networks of their servers and their devices and implement intelligence based on the information collected from their devices.

Who are the other co-founders of SORACOM?

Our CEO Ken Tamagawa and our COO Daichi Funato. Ken and I worked together previously.  He ran the technology side of Amazon’s business in Japan, and I was on his team.

What was your role before co-founding SORACOM?

I was an Amazon Web Services (AWS) solutions architect. My role was to provide technical help for customers that were using AWS to develop their infrastructure.

I worked with a wide variety of clients including technology startups, gaming companies and media companies. That experience gave me the ability to think about cloud-native architectures for different systems and applications.

What was the initial spark that led to SORACOM?

Before joining Amazon, I worked at Ericsson. In 2010 to 2011 cloud computing was just emerging and I thought that telecom infrastructure could be implemented in the cloud.

After I tried AWS, I continued to believe that it should be possible. However, I realised that I needed to extend my knowledge of how to use the cloud, so I decided to join AWS as a solutions architect.

One night I was having a beer with Ken, and I mentioned the idea of implementing a mobile core network on AWS. The following morning, Ken came up with the idea of connecting things and people to improve lives and make the world a better place to live. That was when we decided: let’s do this. Shortly after, we teamed up with Dan. Dan previously worked for NTT DOCOMO and had a strong telecom background. Together, we had the fundamental elements for the foundation of the company.

The time you mentioned, 2010 to 2011 was that not the time of network architecture evolution to IP and IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS)?

Yes. That was exactly the time we were discussing IMS. At Ericsson, we talked a lot about IMS, and there were lots of research projects about IMS. But to me, it looked like IMS was more about replacing old switches with IP-based switches rather than about replacing switches with web technologies.

Implementing a telecom stack on AWS sounds hard. How was all that heavy lifting done?

We started as an MVNO of NTT DOCOMO. When we launched our first service, we needed a GGSN or PDN Gateway to terminate the cellular network at the edge. Then, I started to look at the protocol stack to figure out how it could be implemented in the cloud. Ken, Dan and I spent some time discussing this, and together we designed the architecture. Subsequently, we implemented the first proof of concept.

How long did that take?

It took about 6 to 8 months to develop a solution that accepted ‘live’ customer traffic. At that time, we were operating in stealth mode. We offered alpha and beta versions of the service to some friendly customers, got feedback, improved the offering and prepared for a public launch. Thanks to the capabilities that AWS offered, it was not as hard as it might sound.

From my ancient telecom background, I imagine reams of specifications, years of development and millions of lines of code. How easy did you find it?

It is true that it was not simple. We needed to deal with telecom protocols, the Internet world and web technologies. Thanks to our backgrounds, we had insights into each aspect. We combined forces to make it possible. Additionally, we leveraged AWS managed services such as Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon S3 and Amazon SQS that gave us tremendous capabilities from the onset. The ‘super power’ given by these AWS services enabled us to focus our resources on the core parts of our platform.

It sounds like you did a lot of the coding yourself. Was that the case?

Yes, I wrote quite a lot of code. Although I have the title CTO, I introduce myself as a developer and CTO. I’m still a part of our development team, and I still do a lot of hands-on coding. I find it the best way to engage with the team.

How handy was your telecom vendor background?

Sometimes I get misunderstood by people. They think that since I worked for Ericsson, I had knowledge of the internal aspects of the switches and equipment. This is not the case. I was a researcher at Ericsson, working on connected home and application area research. To develop our platform, I had to dig into and learn many technical aspects.

Fortunately, at SORACOM we had a dream team for developing systems based on AWS cloud. This enabled me to focus solely on developing telecom interfaces.

The development of our billing system that enables detailed billing for pay-as-you-go use is an example of this good fortune. Fairly early in the development of the platform, I said to a colleague, Akio Katayama, now VP of Engineering, “Periodically, I’ll send an archive containing the amount of data each SIM has consumed to an S3 bucket. Can you build a billing system?” The outcome is the real-time billing system that is now at the heart of the SORACOM platform.

What was the most challenging part of the technical effort?

We spent a lot of time figuring out how to develop a scalable and reliable infrastructure. We needed to implement the GGSN and PDN Gateway so that they scale as we increase the number of servers. Also, we wanted to have no single point of failure in the system.

In the web world, there are lots of existing frameworks and programming languages we can use for building common web servers and reliable, scalable systems. For telecoms, there are not as many interesting tools and insights. We needed to design new architectures and invent cloud-native telecom gateways. That was a challenge, but it is a good challenge because it enabled us to develop and patent important intellectual property.

Unlike the traditional ways of implementing GGSNs and PDN Gateways using ultra-reliable hardware, our way is the cloud way, using EC2 instances running on commodity hardware.

Any server in our system can fail at any time without affecting the service, and when an instance fails, the system automatically heals itself by replacing the node.

How have you tackled security?

Security has been the most important consideration in our architecture. The fact that we have our GGSN and PDN Gateway running on AWS not only contributes to infrastructure security but also it enables our value-added services to improve security for customers. For example, if the customer’s back end is also on AWS, we can peer the customer’s virtual private cloud with our core network and the customer can implement an end-to-end virtual private network by taking advantage of our connectivity solution. Also, we have application layer services that provide additional security for device communications. For example, we have a service called SORACOM Beam that can receive data from a customer by opening an endpoint at which we apply Internet-grade encryption to the data. If we receive a single UDP packet from the device, we extract the payload and forward it with HTTPS to the cloud side. This approach has added the benefit of improving communication efficiency by reducing overheads on cellular links.

We hear a lot about devices being hacked. How does your solution solve this problem?

Typically, manufacturers ship devices that connect to cloud back ends through the public Internet. In many cases, the devices use home Wi-Fi to connect to servers via the public Internet, and there are several points where an attacker may steal or alter information.

When a customer uses SORACOM Air and services built on it, their devices are connected to the cellular network and data is transferred through the local operator to SORACOM’s back end through the inter-operator network. Also, as I mentioned earlier, if the customer is also running on AWS infrastructure, we can pair with the customer’s back end through Amazon VPC peering, a private fibre or a virtual private network and data does not go through the Internet.

Does SORACOM offer a solution for managing devices?

We provide management at several levels. Customers have always had the ability to view and manage their SIMs through our console. Often the SIM card is tied to a device ID and in the past customers managed devices through their SIMs via the console.

Recently we launched a new service, SORACOM Inventory, to allow customers to manage their devices as well as the communications service. SORACOM Inventory makes it possible to change settings on, restart, issue commands to and monitor various metrics on an individual device or group of devices remotely and securely. It leverages SIM identity to ease the provisioning of credentials to each device and enables device management with low protocol overheads.

Have you seen any changes in the types of devices people are trying to manage?

Yes. Recently, we have been seeing requests for the management of less capable devices like tiny controllers and sensors that are not running a fully-fledged OS. When we designed SORACOM Inventory, we considered those restricted devices.

What other features are we likely to see from SORACOM in the coming months?

We are always in listening mode and continuously collecting requirements from customers. When these lead to a common feature we can offer, we consider implementing it. Our roadmap is determined by what we learn from customers.

You wish to democratise IoT by liberating developers. How much experience does a developer need to have to use SORACOM’s services?

Our services aim to get rid of the barriers that developers usually face when implementing communications between devices and servers. For example, once a developer has a SORACOM SIM and a 3G/LTE module connected to their device, the knowledge they need is a basic use of familiar protocols such as HTTP or MQTT. Our application layer services provide additional security enhancements and help integrate with cloud services so that devices can use simple, low-overhead protocols. Developers can send data to our HTTP endpoint, and we can apply SSL and the additional authentication. Also, if they use SORACOM Air and set the private networking features properly, they don’t have to be afraid of going through the Internet. This means that developers do not have to waste time on the typical heavy lifting associated with using most other IoT connectivity solutions.

What type of developers are you targeting?

Any developer is welcome. We have a wide spectrum of developers, including those working with startups, SMEs and large enterprises like Canon, Komatsu and Toyota.

We designed our platform so that any size of customer can leverage our services. Our self-service model is liked by startups and SMEs. At the same time, the features we offer to build secure networks are of great importance to large enterprises.

What are the most important things you’d like people to know about SORACOM’s solutions?

There are three things. The first is that our services are meant for IoT innovators – people who want to leverage the key technologies available today, like cloud, secure connectivity and new devices, and focus on innovation rather than the complexities of managing communication protocols and implementing security layers. We handle all the heavy lifting, leaving them to focus on their devices and their applications.

The second is that we offer a self-service model. Customers can order a SIM card online and get started at any time. They do not need to call us or fill in an application form.

The third is that our pricing is based on a simple pay-as-you-go model. Customers can implement quick prototypes and grow them by adding features.

When Amazon web services came onto the market, it stimulated cloud innovations in many industries. Today, AWS powers many major brands including Netflix, Spotify, Airbnb and Lyft. We’d like to become the Amazon equivalent for IoT.

Doesn’t that mean having to fight off many of the big players like Amazon and Microsoft?

We have good relationships with all the mega-cloud vendors. Although I said we would like to be the Amazon for IoT, it doesn’t mean we plan to compete with the mega-cloud vendors. Rather, we would like to extend their service capabilities to IoT devices. For example, we have an integration with Amazon’s AWS IoT that enables devices to exploit AWS’s capabilities simply by configuring some parameters on the platform rather than having to write code. Similarly, we integrate with Microsoft Azure event hubs so that developers can use machine learning or the analytics services offered by Microsoft Azure. Recently, we announced integration with Google IoT and Google Cloud Pub/Sub.

What are your proudest customer case studies?

The first would be Komatsu. They have huge construction machines in the field and have been players in M2M for a long time. They have had cellular modules in their machines and have been monitoring them remotely. They had a different provider but switched to using our service because we offer cloud integration as well as secure, bidirectional communication between their machines and back end services.

The second example I’m especially proud of is Tokachi Bus, a local bus company in Hokkaido Island, Japan. They started by putting a GPS locator on each bus and tracking bus locations in real time. Then they offered a smartphone application to bus users. The reason I chose this example is that they found us shortly after we launched our service, ordered the SIMs online, built the system and started offering services to their customers. We didn’t know about them until they launched the service. They are a typical self-service customer, and their case shows how easy it is to use the service and how easy it is to expand a solution built on our service to support additional customers.

What are your greatest hopes for the development of IoT?

My greatest hope relates to the vision Ken expressed in our initial discussion that led to the founding of the SORACOM. That IoT will be a major force for good in the world, that it will help to improve lives and help us build better, safer communities. Also, since there is always the opportunity for technology to be misused, I hope that we will be wise enough to develop and deploy IoT in ways that minimise potential abuses.

Samsung Electronics Launches IoT Data Monetisation Solution

31 July 2017 – Samsung Electronics today announced the launch of Samsung ARTIK™ Cloud Monetisation for the Internet of Things (IoT), a new service to monetise the data shared by IoT devices.

The service enables device manufacturers and service providers to tap into an open ecosystem and create service plans that generate revenue directly from the interactions of devices and services. Device manufacturers can take advantage of Samsung ARTIK™ Cloud’s extensive interoperability features to generate new revenue streams and implement new business models, such as hardware as a service.

IoT enables device manufacturers to shift their operating model from selling hardware to selling hardware products connected to digital applications. Today, many device manufacturers have trouble recouping data costs associated with free applications and supporting an ecosystem of third-party devices, apps and services. These manufacturers either absorb the data costs of devices in the field, or include anticipated data costs in the retail price of devices.

Samsung ARTIK™ Cloud Monetisation addresses this problem by providing a complete brokering, metering and payments system. It gives device manufacturers an easy way to make their devices interoperable with third party devices and applications, and monetise data usage.

With the Samsung ARTIK™ Cloud developer portal, device manufacturers have the flexibility to define service plans that meet their business needs. Samsung ARTIK™ Cloud brokers and meters user interactions against defined plans, and manages upgrades, payments and revenue shares back to device OEMs.

"Samsung is committed to growing the IoT data economy," said James Stansberry, Senior Vice President of IoT Business Team at Samsung Electronics (above). “Samsung ARTIK™ Cloud Monetisation uniquely positions us to help device manufacturers find new ways to make money from IoT and enable more applications for their customers. This is part of our long-term strategy to facilitate the development of secure IoT products and services, promote wide-scale interoperability, and create a platform and business model for an entire IoT ecosystem to thrive. Like the mobile phone industry, IoT will be driven by open systems, interoperability and support from innovative applications.”

“Samsung ARTIK™ is leading the way in helping device manufacturers easlily make their devices interoperable with third party devices and applications, as well as be able to monetise data use, and we are excited to be part of the journey,” said Pete Horton, Vice President of Market Development at Legrand, a global specialist in digital building infrastructure (left). “The new data broker model helps Legrand focus on our core competency of building market leading devices, while also allowing us to benefit from Samsung's open ecosystem of third party apps and services. It’s the missing piece to the IoT puzzle.”

“We're excited to partner with Samsung ARTIK™ on the new monetisation model,” said Stefan Grosjean, founder and CEO of Smappee, provider of smart energy solutions (right). “Increasing the reach of devices while also providing a path to monetisation is key to the successful evolution of IoT.”

For more information about the Samsung ARTIK™ platform and development tools, please visit http://artik.io and http://artik.cloud.

Source: Samsung Electronics

SORACOM Launches IoT Device Management Service

5 July 2017 – SORACOM, INC., a provider of cloud-native communication platforms for the Internet of Things today announce at the SORACOM Discovery conference that the new service, Soracom Inventory, will be available worldwide beginning July 5, 2017.

The service allows customers to remotely manage both connections and devices through the SORACOM IoT communication platform.

SORACOM Inventory (Inventory) makes it possible to manage the status and setting of individual IoT devices, restart devices, issue commands, arrange data and monitor various metrics remotely and securely.

By using the SORACOM user console and API, it is now possible to improve and automate the setting and operation of remote IoT devices. The exchange between the device and the SORACOM platform uses the Light Weight M2M protocol standardized by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) for device management in IoT/M2M.

Users can access this service by installing a Lightweight M2M agent on their devices. In addition, users who connect using the SORACOM Air cellular service can simplify the agent's initial setup procedure. Since the server function necessary for exchange with Lightweight M2M is maintained on the SORACOM side, customers can start using various settings on their servers.

“We plan to continue developing services and expanding the functions of our platform so that customers can create and release new IoT solutions quickly and easily,” said Kenta Yasukawa, CTO SORACOM (above). “SORACOM is committed to creating a more connected world, and will contribute to the development of the IoT industry through the SORACOM platform.”

For additional information, please see visit https://soracom.io/services/inventory/.

Source: Soracom

Senet Appoints Bruce Chatterley as CEO & President

12 June 2017 – Senet, a provider of public low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs) for long range Internet of Things (IoT) applications supporting the LoRaWANä protocol, today announced it has named Bruce Chatterley as CEO & President.

Chatterly brings more than 25 years of experience in business leadership, transformation, strategy and technology as well as a strong track record of rapidly building and scaling worldwide operations and organizational infrastructure in a variety of hyper-growth sectors, including telecommunications, cloud computing, managed hosting and mobility.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Senet team at such an exciting time,” said Chatterley (above). “Senet has that rare combination of dedication to technology innovation, amazingly talented people and momentum in the market.  As we continue to add capabilities for our customers and expand our presence, our mission remains unchanged – to help ensure that IoT realizes its full potential of delivering global economic, environmental and social improvements. The company is truly positioned to become a disruptor in IoT connectivity.”

Chatterley will succeed Senet CEO & President, George Dannecker (left). Dannecker made the personal decision to retire after four years with the company, spearheading the business vision and execution that led to Senet’s focus on first-to-market public Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) solutions for IoT applications.

“It has been extremely fulfilling to have helped Senet achieve a leadership position and deliver LPWAN services that have become a key component of today’s IoT technology wave,” said Dannecker. “We are thrilled to have Bruce as our new CEO. The coming years are going to be extraordinary for the company, and I have no doubt that Senet will contribute significantly to the adoption of mission critical IoT products and solutions.”

In addition to bringing significant marketing, sales and operational experience to Senet, Chatterley will focus on developing strategic partnerships and executing go-to-market strategies in the segments LoRaWAN connectivity is ideally suited for. These efforts will not only help drive Senet to its next stage of growth, but are instrumental to the broader adoption of LoRaWAN technology and the strengthening of the overall IoT ecosystem.

Source: Senet and PR Newswire

Ingenu Brings IoT Connectivity to Vessel Monitoring

6 April 2017 – Ingenu Inc., a provider of Low Power Wide area (LPWA) connectivity for IoT, today announced that it will be enabling Orolia’s McMurdo Omnicom Solar Fishing Beacon to assist in vessel communication and fisheries monitoring.

The Omnicom Solar solution serves the global fishing industry and will use Ingenu’s RPMA® (Random Phase Multiple Access) connectivity solution to enhance vessel safety, prevent illegal harvesting, and protect national interests and dedicated economic zones.

The Omnicom Solar Fishing Beacon, powered by RPMA technology, is ideally suited to address the needs of the global fishing industry, as it provides long-range, robust, secure network connectivity to maritime vessels. With a range of up to 50 km (31.6 mi.) from the device to the shore-based access point, the beacon functions as a search and rescue distress device and provides location services, broadcast and two-way communication features. Significantly, RPMA adds an extremely high level of security to the communications network, making it extremely difficult to spoof or jam. This is a significant advantage over other technologies, such as Automatic Identification System (AIS).

In many of the world’s maritime regions, protection of natural resources is crucial to a country’s economic prosperity, with well over 50 percent of the world’s seafood exported from developing countries. Artisanal vessels, which operate in these areas, are difficult to monitor and protect due to lack of sufficient communication technology. Hence, governments and leaders in these regions are implementing programs to protect citizens and resources, while enhancing safety and security in national waters.

“We are pleased to partner with Ingenu to enhance the functionality of this important safety and monitoring solution,” said Jonas N. Olsen, chief strategy officer at Orolia (above). “The Ingenu solution provides the Omnicom Solar Fishing Beacon with extended range and data capabilities at a significantly lower cost than existing technologies. As the world’s leading provider of resilient positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) systems, including maritime management infrastructure, we understand the needs of this industry, and we are excited to bring this powerful solution to the market.”

“The global availability of RPMA technology makes this an ideal solution for fisheries from Angola to Peru,” said Ted Myers, chief technology officer, Ingenu (left). “With RPMA, Orolia can serve the entire market with just one device, enabling a compelling use case for vessel monitoring across the world.”

Source: Ingenu

One Solution to Digital Retail Dilemmas

By Simon Moffatt, Senior Product Manager at ForgeRock – 

We live in a digital age where online shopping rules and Christmas gifts can be purchased from the comfort of our sofa/home, long after the shops have closed/at any time of the day or night. Managing and unifying cumbersome omnichannel environments to provide a secure and fluid user experience has become a top priority. But for retailers, allying digital services with existing brick and mortar operations is no easy matter.

According to Gartner's 2016 Chief Supply Chain Officer survey, 57 percent of CSOs listed the sales shift from physical stores to online retail as one of the three main threats that will impact their businesses over the next three years. Moreover, retailers face a crisis of customer trust and it’s not just a Baby Boomer issue- all age groups have issues with online shopping trust. An Accenture survey found that 57 percent of shoppers of all ages are very concerned that their personal information could be stolen during a transaction, whilst only a third of consumers are confident that their favorite retailers are keeping their personal information guarded.
But the shopper’s way is the only way. They demand frictionless, reliable and most crucially, secure retail experiences – online, in-store and through mobile apps. They expect to browse, shop and buy in whatever way works best for them, at any given moment, or they will look elsewhere. For retailers to remain competitive in the digital age, they must revolutionise the way they operate to meet these demands and provide a personalised, secure customer experience at every point of interaction, both digital and physical.

Retailers face four main challenges as they work to create this omnichannel shopping experience. The positive news is that digital identity management provides the answer to all of them.

1. Data sharing and privacy concerns

Retail companies are racing to secure data and privacy as consumers, their connected devices and their preferred shopping method increasingly moves online. Retail data isn’t solely important to the outlet, it’s also vital to the customer – credit card information, addresses, emails and phone numbers. Keeping retail data secure is not just about meeting stringent new government or industry regulations, preventing financial loss and avoiding negative press, it’s also about safeguarding customer loyalty and trust.

Smart businesses will enable the customer to take the reins. Retailers can give customers the ability to specify who and what can access their personal data, when and for how long by employing a digital identity management platform. Customers should be able to determine which retail outlets get access to their data, for how long and under what conditions – with the click of a button. Only advanced digital identity technology can accommodate this level of consent-orientated data sharing.

2. Failure to connect users, devices and things

Many retail organisations have developed fancy websites, mobile apps and physical stores with digital devices at the check-out stand to stay relevant and capture the most data possible. Unfortunately for retailers’ budgets, unless these initiatives are integrated and deliver a connected user experience they add the risk not only of incurring additional operational cost but also of frustrating impatient customers and partners.
Every retailer should register the digital identities of users, devices and connected things; link them together; authorise and de-authorise their access to data; apply policies that say what level and type of security is required; and tailor the experience to each individual identity’s established preferences.

3. Impersonal, disjointed customer experiences

Many retailers lack personalised customer insight – or even the ability to create it – because their customer data is isolated in disparate data islands across their organisations, confined by legacy infrastructure and short-term IT fixes. Replace these islands with a single view of each customer through digital identity management, which brings together data about buying habits and history across channels, from in-store to online, across brands and business units.

A digital identity platform can combine all the associated identities of users, devices and connected things, so every department and every employee can respond to customers with an understanding of who they are and how they’ve interacted with the organisation across platforms. Many companies can collect shopper data and present returning customers with a list of past purchases, which is a somewhat static approach. By consolidating and utilising the customer data collected at every purchase point, however, retailers can provide a truly personalised shopping experience on any platform, even in-store.

4. Lack of continuous, contextual security

Online fraud and identity theft are very real concerns for retailers and customers alike, damaging both brands and images, whilst also impacting revenue and incurring legal obligations. Traditional approaches to online security- perimeter defences- aren’t effective in multi-device, omnichannel world. A ‘secure’ system is not just a matter of having the right credentials, such as a username and password, and not losing or forgetting them.

Let’s say a “returning customer” wants to log into her account with an online retailer through an Android tablet device from an IP address located in Eastern Europe. In the past, this customer has logged in only through a Mac laptop or iPhone, and only from IP addresses in London. Retailers with advanced identity management capabilities will be able to identify this log in attempt as potentially fraudulent and deny access, or apply step-authentication – for instance, sending a security code to the customer’s mobile phone and asking for it to be entered online. Smart identity strategies using multi-factor authentication, social sign-on, passwordless log in and other techniques support frictionless, secure user experiences that promote trust and loyalty with consumers, and help retailers to prevent costly online crime.

Conclusion

Delivering effective solutions to these four challenges through digital identity management will improve the consumer experience, keep data protected, and therefore increase customer loyalty and promote a positive brand image for the retailer.

As digital retail success becomes more about how well you know your customers in an omnichannel world, digital identity will be vital to ensuring purchasing habits and customer data are safe and sound with a trusted retail outlet.

Panasonic Partners with Cubic Telecom to Enhance IoT

4 April – Panasonic System Communications Company of North America, a division of Panasonic Corporation of North America (Panasonic), announced today a strategic business relationship with Cubic Telecom for global connectivity solutions.

The relationship will strengthen Panasonic’s position as a global market leader in embedded wireless technologies.

“Since the early days of mobile connectivity, Panasonic has been committed to ensuring that its customers have access to the wireless solutions that work best for them in the most demanding and extreme locations. This new agreement with Cubic Telecom ensures that we remain ahead of the curve in an increasingly connected world,” said Victoria Obenshain, Vice President Wireless Strategy, Panasonic System Communications Company of North America (above). “Cubic’s ability to provide seamless global connectivity that meets the demands of the mobile workforce will ensure we continue to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers.”

The deal with Cubic Telecom is a key component of a broad strategy within Panasonic to ensure that its market-leading solutions are equipped to take advantage of the always-on, internet-of-things (IOT) ecosystem.

"Connectivity is an essential prerequisite for business productivity," says Barry Napier, CEO of Cubic Telecom (left). “Panasonic has selected Cubic Telecom to deliver a consistent global connectivity solution to their clients across a wide range of Panasonic products and devices. By combining Panasonic's world-class capabilities with Cubic's innovative software and communications platform, organizations can equip their global workforces to achieve higher levels of efficiency and effectiveness. We are aligned around our partnership to help workers and organizations solve the connectivity challenges they face today. Cubic labels this Productivity as a Service.”

By partnering with Cubic, Panasonic will have access to a high-speed LTE voice and data network solution that allows for the seamless, global connectivity that Panasonic’s business customers demand.

“Panasonic has committed itself to developing mobile devices that meet the needs of today’s global workforce that increase efficiency and productivity through the latest connectivity solutions,” said Brian Rowley, Vice President Marketing and Product Planning, Panasonic System Communications Company of North America (right). “Our ongoing R&D efforts in wireless technologies – emboldened by this partnership with Cubic Telecom – will allow us to continue to address the real-world challenges faced by modern mobile professionals.”

For more information on Panasonic’s Mobility Solutions, please visit www.panasonic.com/toughbook.

Source: Businesswire and Panasonic

Sierra Wireless Acquires GlobalTop Technology’s GNSS Assets

3 April 2017 – Sierra Wireless today announced that it completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of GlobalTop Technology’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) embedded module business for total cash consideration of approximately $3.2 million, subject to working capital adjustments.

GlobalTop’s GNSS embedded module portfolio will become part of the Sierra Wireless OEM Solutions product line, and the GNSS staff from GlobalTop will join Sierra Wireless.

GlobalTop’s GNSS products generated approximately $5.0 million U.S. in revenue during the last 12 months, and the business is approximately breakeven.

“With a wide array of modules and established sales channels, as well as a proven engineering team, we believe that the GlobalTop GNSS business is an important addition to Sierra Wireless,” said Dan Schieler, Senior Vice President and General Manager, OEM Solutions, Sierra Wireless (above). “Building on our portfolio of Cellular, WiFi and Bluetooth modules, we will have additional products to offer to our customers in markets where positioning data is critical, including high-value asset tracking, telematics, drones and automotive.”

For more information on Sierra Wireless, please visit www.sierrawireless.com.

 Source: Sierra Wireless

Unlocking the Potential of IoT

New connectivity options for a networked world

 – By Duane Wald –

Internet of Things (IoT) has, over the past few years, become the hottest buzz word in the technology industry – driving connected devices and the applications they enable firmly into the spotlight.

Anyone who has been following IoT, even from the sidelines, can’t have missed the huge projections being bandied about:

• In 2011, Ericsson famously predicted that 50 billion devices will be connected by 2020,
• More recently, economists at GE forecast a $15 trillion addition to global GDP in 20 years,
• Gartner believes the technology will contribute $300 billion in incremental revenue for companies adopting the technology by 2020, and
• IDC values the total IoT market at $1.7 Trillion.

Although estimates vary widely, and debate about their accuracy remains spirited, one thing is absolutely clear, as analyst James Brehm puts it: the IoT market is already big and poised to become huge.

Why? Because the Internet of Things is creating new customer experiences and unparalleled economic value, while improving quality of life for countless people around the globe.

Moreover, there is not a single industry that won’t be affected to generate positive outcomes including: faster more effective emergency response; improved quality of life for the elderly or infirm; more efficient food production and distribution; safer, less congested highways, and a cleaner environment, among countless others.

So the only question that remains is: How? With what technologies? Leveraging what standards?

There are many ways to manage, control and collect information from assets, some wired and increasingly wireless. Those technologies are either managed or non-managed. Those technologies that address Short Range Communication, Personal Area Networks or Local Area Networks tend to be set up by the individual or enterprise with an emphasis on a CAPEX-only model, they buy it connect and manage it and enjoy economic, social or personal benefit. Longer range technologies tend to be managed, such as cellular, and as such involve a CAPEX-model upfront with an ongoing OPEX expense, which often cannot meet the business case of all assets that may benefit from connectivity.

The recent realization of LPWANs using ISM bands is disruptive as it turns this paradigm upside down for those who are prepared to invest CAPEX similar to a LAN or PAN to gain long range connectivity with devices more akin to Cellular for use cases where Short Range has been successful, such as sensor harvesting and remote control of industrial machinery.

New wireless technologies will not only drive the (now rather mundane) connection of things but also one’s own personal interaction with things and IoT network resources. Upcoming optical and sonic wireless technologies have the promise to provide contactless information transfer from a person or thing to another person or thing via the IoT to transparently enable and make available massive IoT network resources on demand. It represents just-in-time information flow for the consumer. The next phase of IoT is all about what we do with the connections that the first phase is now putting into place. Those eventual uses should feed back and drive what connections and connection types are being built out right now.

We’re now at the stage where cellular operators are voluntarily shutting down the earliest 2G networks and driving M2M/IoT customers to not only upgrade their physical devices, but also purchase bandwidth beyond what is generally needed for M2M and IIoT applications – 75% of which use less than one megabyte per month of data. The global carrier community is looking to variants of LTE and even forward years to 5G to address this disconnect. At the same time, a host of new Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) networking options are rolling out around the world.

LPWA solutions can run for years on batteries and operate in locations other technologies simply don’t reach. Plus, because many LPWA solutions operate on unlicensed spectrum, they deliver device connectivity at a fraction of the cost of cellular or even analog wireless solutions.

Among LPWA options available today, the leader has yet to emerge. Multiple options are making names for themselves. They include LoRaWAN, Sigfox and RPMA (Ingenu, formerly OnRamp Wireless). Each offers long range and long battery life, but they have important differences which impact their suitability to particular purposes. Moreover, there are new offerings coming out from the cellular carriers including LTE Categories 1 and M, as well as narrow-band IoT (5G).

Ultimately, we believe these technologies are very complimentary as each is suited to a subset of applications. Sigfox, for example, is ideal for simple sensor harvesting where its inherent limitations are acceptable due to the small size of the data being transferred and the need for optimal power efficiency. Ingenu offers a broader bit rate and tighter control, but requires antenna diversity at the edge due to the propagation of 2.4GHz creating an up-front CAPEX expense most suitable to very high-value assets where the additional complexity of integration can be effectively absorbed at the margin. LoRaWAN resides comfortably in the middle, providing higher bandwith and a faster data rate than Sigfox at a slightly shorter range and smaller link budget than Ingenue, but with a lower up front cost. And while Sigfox and Ingenue are both on the path to building ubiquitous nationwide networks, LoRa offers the ability, for those who prefer it, to deploy a private network to cover a campus, farm, refinery, etc. as well as the option to work with public network service providers.

As you can see, each available connecting technology has its pros and cons, but by understanding them, you are more likely to find the best for your specific purposes.  In fact, as technologies evolve and use cases become more sophisticated, blended connectivity solutions are likely to predominate the IoT space. When connecting your devices to the IoT, you will need to get used to working with several technologies at once for any given solution.

Duane Walde is VP and Managing Director EMEA and APAC, MultiTech Systems. Multitech Systems provides products and services to connect “things” to the Internet and deliver critical insight to businesses, governments and individuals. Such insights transform the way we live and work.

More than 25 million MultiTech products empoying a range of connectivity technologies perform critical functions for businesses around the globe.

Wireless Broadband Alliance Publishes IoT Interoperability White Paper

30 March 2017 – The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) today launched a new white paper outlining the key priorities for operators and technology vendors, and the monetization potential for unlicensed technologies for IoT. The report, entitled ‘Internet of Things: New Vertical Value Chains & Interoperability’, reveals that 85% of companies have made IoT a key focus area over the last 12 months and have prioritized consumer and home, transportation and energy markets.

The report also highlights that companies consider IoT connectivity service, network interoperability and roaming are important for smart city and automotive applications.

The WBA analyzed the use of Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) based on PasspointTM certified Wi-Fi equipment to facilitate the adoption of IoT services using unlicensed radio technologies. Wi-Fi hotspots will be key for the development of some IoT applications and services. But while current provisioning and sign-up procedures assume display and input capabilities, IoT devices will likely be defined without such capabilities. NGH takes the established hotspot model and builds new levels of ease of discovery, security of connection and efficiency of service.  As a result, there is an opportunity to augment the on-boarding definition to enable simple IoT devices to be provisioned with NGH security credentials. This is an important initiative in making impactful strides towards commercial IoT deployments.

With certain IoT applications only sending a few bytes of data per day, monetization and revenue generation, especially with the use of unlicensed technologies, is a key focus of operators and technology vendors. When using unlicensed technology within IoT, monetization will be driven by non-traditional approaches, such as big data, etc. The WBA’s latest report shows that there are at least four different models emerging for the monetization of IoT:

• Hardware Based: Adding network connectivity to an existing or new product. This connectivity will be coupled with a web based tool (typically cloud based), providing basic management of the network connected device.
• Service Based: Transforming traditional product offerings into a recurrent service offering. Importantly, this transforms the customer relationship and their associated value to the business by allowing continued engagement over the lifetime of the service offering.
• Data Insight Based: Instead of the business to consumer service revenue, data revenue is focused on the business to business opportunity. Businesses can generate revenue by monetizing the suitably aggregated and anonymized data gathered from IoT.
• Ecosystem Model: Focus is not on the end-to-end product or service offering, but rather on delivering a shared platform to enable other ecosystem partners to monetize their unique capabilities.

These monetization strategies can be supported by different pricing models: One-time charges, pay-as-you-go, subscription models, pay-for-results, freemium models or transaction based models.

“With IoT services now beginning to take shape, the industry is starting to look at how revenues will be shared down the IoT value chain. The WBA’s 2020 vision seeks to look at the role of Wi-Fi and other unlicensed technologies to support IoT and smart city services, which is why our latest report outlines the opportunities for unlicensed technologies within IoT,” said Shrikant Shenwai, CEO of the Wireless Broadband Alliance (above). Companies are seeing that network interoperability and roaming in certain IoT use cases are important, and that existing authentication mechanisms based on NGH can be used to support IoT security.”

WBA explores the evolution of identities for IoT centric devices, moving up the stack to an association with applications and embedded identifiers. In this context, WBA have recently started a new effort that is defining a technical framework to address IoT service interoperability and roaming. To learn more and engage contact the WBA, please contact pmo@wballiance.com

The report, entitled ‘Internet of Things: New Vertical Value Chains & Interoperability’, is available to download here.

Source: Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA)