Connecting IoT end point devices through cellular is relatively easy. The question becomes – who is going to pay for the connectivity? Furthermore, who should have the right answer to this question? All roads are leading back to the chip companies who are selling modem ICs into cellular IoT devices as those who should ponder this issue. They need to think about how their customers, the device manufacturers, are going to monetize the IoT. The following article is very thought provoking in this regard.
In 2011, Cisco famously stated in a white paper what later became IoT gospel, circulated endlessly and uncritically: The world will have 50 billion connected devices by 2020.
Fast forward to March 2019. We all cringe — realizing how wildly optimistic the industry was and how gullible we were.
Since 2011, market predictions for connected devices have been repeatedly adjusted. The 2020 outlook now ranges from 20 to 30 billion connected devices, about half of Cisco’s rosy forecast.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m hardly suggesting that market growth for IoT devices has stalled. Au contraire, it is growing steadily. But a few unresolved issues prevent this segment from racking up its next “trillions.” Oft-cited alibis for the slow growth of IoT are security — or lack of thereof — and fragmentation among IoT products.
IoT products built on diverging connectivity technologies, communication protocols and system-level applications remain problematic. The insecurity of devices is a lingering concern.
