With the growth of IoT usage, connectivity must also be considered

2024-03-12

As the sensors and hardware driving the Internet of Things (IoT) become increasingly intelligent and numerous, network providers will need to collaborate with businesses to consider appropriate bandwidth and security.

The Internet of Things provides the potential to improve operations and provides deeper insights into performance for almost all industries. From smart cities to manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, and retail, companies are deploying more IoT sensors and devices than ever before to provide more accurate and actionable data, and help drive new revenue streams through wiser decision-making.

The IoT market is expected to continue its growth trajectory. According to a report by BusinessInsider, there will be 41 billion connected IoT devices or "things" by 2027, up from 8 billion in 2019. In summary, by 2027, the IoT market is expected to grow by over $2.4 trillion annually.

The ability to integrate modern equipment with Internet connectivity is beneficial to enterprises. But none of this happened out of thin air. A powerful technology that can collect and process large amounts of data, transmit it over long distances, and quickly transform it into reliable actions requires a network that can handle work.

Basic network technologies such as 5G, WiFi, and low-power remote wide area network (LoRaWAN) require collaboration as organizations seek to optimize popular efficiency. Let's see how it works.

The current situation of the Internet of Things and network demand

In order to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness, more and more companies are deploying the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, connecting billions of sensors and transmitting data through battery powered devices. Although the technologies are similar, the deployment methods vary by industry. Examples include:

Energy and utilities: water meters and usage optimization, buoy sensors in the ocean for tsunami detection, automatic intelligent valve flushing system, leak detection

Healthcare: Drug refrigeration monitoring, equipment positioning and monitoring, hygiene reminders and monitoring

Smart City: Municipal Lighting Control, Waste Management, Fire and Leakage Detection and Response, Rodent Control

Asset tracking, fleet management, and logistics: tracking and monitoring everything from personnel to pallets, bicycles, animals, and cargo ships; Plan land area, worker shifts, and lunch breaks to help improve warehouse and operational efficiency, and increase analysis that helps drive decision-making

The reality is that as companies discover more use cases that can help them improve operational efficiency, the Internet of Things will continue to develop in many different industries. This will require investment in infrastructure upgrades to appropriately support additional network needs. The good news is that most corporate companies already have WiFi and broadband networks to upgrade their systems.

With the surge in the number and types of IoT devices and sensors, networks can provide:

Increase the ability to connect any number of IoT endpoints

reliability

Intelligent gateway intelligence

Programmability

Edge processing

Traffic monitoring and priority sorting

Manage Connection Costs

"Nowadays, connectivity is the lifeblood of enterprises," said Christian Nascimento, Vice President of Product Management and Strategy, Comcast Business Unit. "Everyone already has broadband or some form of connection. Layering sensors and analysis resources on top of it is not a huge investment. The long-term benefits that businesses gain far exceed costs."

The combination of WiFi and LoRaWAN

Technological progress is giving rise to smarter sensors that can make localized decisions and become actionable insights. Machine learning and AI will help sensors become smarter, but they also require a powerful and functional network to achieve better performance.

"There will be more needs than any other network can solve," Nascimento said. "The important thing is to find complementary technologies and make them work together."

In other words, organizations need to combine elements from different communication technologies to achieve the results they need. Let's take a look at the different network backbone and how they will work together.

WiFi: Most organizations already have broadband, which is very suitable for transmitting large amounts of data over short distances with low latency. WiFi can support critical services, real-time applications, and remote manufacturing.

LoRaWAN: Unlike WiFi, LoRaWAN can transmit over long distances - up to 20 miles - and can penetrate walls, concrete, and even underground. It is very suitable for connecting billions of objects and transmitting small amounts of data through battery powered devices, which can be used for 10 years or longer, depending on the communication frequency. LoRaWAN can provide firmware updates to all devices simultaneously wirelessly, thereby improving the flexibility of deployment operations.

5G: This emerging technology has high bandwidth, low latency, and will be widely used in many applications, such as connected cars. However, many older devices may not run on 5G and require investment to leverage their advantages.

When deployed as complementary technologies, companies can improve efficiency by using LoRaWAN and WiFi.

"In terms of using both to solve today's business problems and develop cohesive strategies, thisa very happy combination," said John Brzozowski, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of MachineQ, a Comcast company that offers an enterprise level IoT platform utilizing LoRaWAN.

WiFi is ubiquitous today. It is ubiquitous and widely used as a connection mechanism. When you want to quickly install universal sensors in private places, this ubiquitous presence is beneficial. LoRaWAN provides wireless coverage in remote and crowded areas.

The Future of the Internet of Things

The diffusion of IoT sensors and devices will not slow down quickly, and LoRaWAN will not slow down either. LoRaWAN is a surprising young technology that has only been used for about five years or less. As customers learn more about the features of LoRaWAN and understand its usage and potential cost savings, they want to learn more.

So, what will the future of IoT devices look like, and how can LoRaWAN make them work together more seamlessly? The use cases are difficult to illustrate one by one, and the benefits of WiFi hybrid deployment will be widely known through management costs and resource savings.

Predictive maintenance and analysis: The company will achieve the efficiency of IoT sensors by ensuring that the system goes according to plan and freeing up time for employees to do other tasks, which helps with maintenance. Imagine a world where QSR employees no longer need to measure the temperature of food containers every hour, but can respond to any problems that arise. In the field of agriculture, predictive analysis can use soil sensors to measure watering to help maximize crop yield and predict the birth of calves.

Improving security: Oil and mining companies can use IoT sensors to handle tasks such as temperature checks. For example, natural gas company sensors can automatically shut down natural gas pipelines when an earthquake is detected. These tasks can be triggered from a long distance.

Automation will be the trend: the Internet of Things and the networks it carries will automate many daily tasks and help companies improve operational efficiency. The thermostat and other sensors will send data through WiFi, and LoRaWAN will become an operable technology to ensure that pumps, valves, and other devices respond correctly to actions.

Investment return rate: In many cases, opportunities to optimize costs and resources, as well as sensor and analysis investment costs, can be seen in five years or less.

The future of the Internet of Things means new advancements in daily devices. This in turn helps businesses generate actionable data that can help improve operations and business decisions. In order to maximize the utilization of IoT investments, it is important to work closely with your network provider to provide strong connectivity.

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