Verizon Aims for Innovation with New IoT Developer Platform

By 2020, there will be 30 billion connected devices globally, up from 12 billion at the end of a year ago, IDC estimated.

In spite of these challenges, there are steps that enterprises can take now to start building the robust, flexible, scalable networks that can act as the foundation and basis of the new IoT-based world.

New companies are entering the market: Startup SIGFOX, which introduced its network in San Francisco this week, expects its network connectivity to cost $2 to $3 a year per device at scale, said Allen Proithis, president of SIGFOX North America.

Starting in the first quarter, the company will offer options that use less overhead so devices can connect to the Web for less.

Internet of Things, or IoT, can be loosely described as a network of inter-connected devices that can be accessed through the Internet. “The IoT will become a crucial tool for businesses of every sector and avsnet has demonstrated it has the highest level of industry understanding, technical experience and dedication to its customers to help drive the IoT forward”.

Paul Clifton, director of winemaking for Napa’s Hahn Family Wines, said he’s been working with Verizon on a project to install sensors 12 inches into the ground in his vineyards to monitor whether roots need moisture. And it’s pretty confident that the formula works, since it’s live and ready for all developers to code and test, even if they are not a Verizon customer.

Verizon says will roll out hundreds more APIs on the platform throughout 2016. Cost and power consumption often influence the choice of a network.

To help attract devices to cellular, Verizon announced on Wednesday that silicon vendor Sequans has developed an LTE module for IoT devices at half the cost of previous ones. It’s also offering LTE chipsets in a range of devices to make it easier to “automate the provisioning process and make it faster to deploy IoT devices on its wide-area network”, the company said in a statement. But the new network architecture should allow a few low-data-using gadgets to come without a monthly fee, while more intensive data using devices are likely to retain a fee and tap into a shared data plan. Without that lean, dedicated core, Verizon’s infrastructure wouldn’t be able to accommodate billions of devices.

As one of two dominant wireless operators in the USA, Verizon has an interest in helping IoT grow. It is the job of networks and cloud services to deliver the necessary seamless connection to the Internet and the requisite cloud computing capability to gather, store and analyse data and use it to drive business insight and competitive advantage.

A effect of these different needs is the focus on the connectivity aspect of the IoT. Yet another communications company has made it clear that the future is the IoT.