The Wild West of Connections – how 5G standards could supercharge the IoT

IoT development has always come in fits and starts. Early IoT devices were large and unwieldy until better microprocessors were developed. And storage for the massive amount of data generated by a large scale IoT network was impossible, until the cloud evolved and massive amounts of storage, as well as processing power, was available to everyone at a competitive price. Now, the industry is at an inflection point. The bookend solutions of processing power and data storage has matured, but the connectivity in the middle hasn’t always been up to speed. It was either not available, too complex or too expensive. Part of what’s held that connectivity back is inconsistent standards in IoT devices and networks, making it difficult for companies to implement solutions at scale. It’s also held back development, as there’s no common tool set. Ericsson has always been a strong driver of the telecom industry’s standardization work. The company’s researchers have had a hand in every generation of mobile wireless technology – every “G”, if you will – and 5G is no different. The better security, energy efficiency and specialization (through network slicing) aspects of the 5G standards will play a role in helping the IoT achieve its true potential.