The cutting-edge connected devices and services on show at MWC 15 highlight the rapid technological advances and developments the Internet of Things has made in the space of twelve short months. The IoT is in the early stages of a crucial transition; it is no longer a pipedream and is already transforming people’s lives. The GSMA’s recent report, developed by KRC Research and GSMA Intelligence, ‘The Impact of the Internet of Things: the Connected Home’, found that approximately one in four people in the UK, US, Germany and Japan already own a connected device such as a smart meter, security system, lighting system (23 per cent), or health monitor.
Market forecasts from a number of M2M research houses across the industry have been uniformly optimistic about the rapid growth of M2M and the IoT. For example, Machina Research have estimated that by 2020, there will be 27.1 billion total connected devices across the globe, up from 12.6 billion in December 2014. Despite this, those in the industry know that there are still many challenges that need to be overcome in order to accelerate the growth of the IoT and deliver innovative new services.
The GSMA’s Connected Living programme has developed solutions for the two key issues of interoperability and network optimisation in the form of GSMA Embedded SIM Specification and the GSMA IoT Connection Efficiency Guidelines, respectively.
The Connected Living Seminar today in Seminar Theatre 1, CC1.1, 14:00-18:30, will give anyone who attends, not just understanding the future of the IoT, but also the opportunity to debate with leading experts in the field.
Our seminar will be broke down into two sessions, the first will explore the GSMA Embedded SIM Specification, a single, common and global specification to help grow the M2M market. During this session you will hear from leading industry figures including, Cameron Coursey, Vice President Product Development, Emerging Devices Organisation, AT&T and Daniel Kostelac, Chief Architect Consumer IT, Volvo Mobility, on why the specification was required and how it has been implemented. There will then follow a panel session that will provide an overview of the needs of the M2M market.
In the ‘Future IoT Networks’ seminar, senior industry experts Angel Garcia Barrio, President – M2M, Etisalat Group, Robert Jagler Director MSS Connectivity, Commercial Product Management, Volvo Keynote: Stephen Bryant CTO, Telenor Connexion and Carme Fàbregas CTO, ATM, Barcelona, will review the emerging requirements for IoT and M2M in the automotive and transport markets, as well as the automakers’ and transport operators’ plans to use mobile to support their new services. This seminar will similarly conclude with a panel session that will debate the value-added functionality that can be provided by mobile operators to support the IoT in smart homes and smart cities, for example, management of trust, devices and applications.
The growth of M2M the IoT is being facilitated by industry collaboration and a range of new partnerships and alliances continue to emerge. We encourage anyone attending MWC to engage with the GSMA and its partners by attending our seminars and help find common solutions to stimulate IoT ecosystem and maximising revenue opportunities.