No single access network technology is “best” for every application or use case, and that remains true for internet of things connectivity as well.
Some use cases only require short-range or local connectivity; others require wide area support. Some use cases require small amounts of bandwidth, with infrequent updating; others require video bandwidth and almost-continual updating.
Some applications will have key latency performance requirements; others will not. Power consumption often will be a key constraint, but not always. Device cost must be quite low in some cases, less a concern in other instances.
For such reasons, mobile platforms are not “best” for every business case. Specialized networks, sometimes using unlicensed spectrum, will be sufficient in many instances. Local connectivity will do for as much as 80 percent of use cases.
Though mobile service provider interest in internet of things connections is driven in substantial part by the sheer number of projected devices to be supported, incremental connections might not be as large an opportunity as some hope.
IoT Analytics expects the global number of connected IoT devices to grow nine percent, to 12.3 billion active endpoints. By 2025, there will likely be more than 27 billion IoT connections, the firm estimates.
But there are lots of nuances. Perhaps 22 million of the projected 2025 connections of 27 billion will use some short-range technology, not the mobile or other specialized networks, or fixed networks.
In other words, up to 80 percent of IoT connections will use local or personal area networks, not the mobile--or some other network--for access. So new revenue will be an issue, even as huge forecasts are easy to find.
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