For about two years the Internet of Things (IoT) has been in what Gartner’s Hypecycle refers to as the ‘Trough of Disillusionment’. So say three InterDigital executives talking to Jeremy Cowan of IoT Now at Mobile World Congress (#MWC18) in Barcelona.

Predicted to generate more than $450 billion (€365.03 billion) in annual revenues by 2020, the IoT presents massive opportunities for telecommunications service providers. However, competition will be fierce; major telcos such as Verizon, Vodafone, and Deutsche Telecom have already invested billions with connectivity plays as well as on IoT services and platforms, meaning smaller carriers [...]

A new report from Juniper Research has found that the total number of connections leveraging an unlicenced spectrum to deliver low power M2M connectivity will approach 400 million by 2022. Connections using these technologies, such as Sigfox, LoRa and Ingenu, will rise from an estimated 50 million by the end of 2018, representing total growth of 736%.

Alpha Micro is pleased to announce availability of the ON Semiconductor AX-SIP-SFEU, a Sigfox-certified programmable RF transceiver System-in-Package (SiP) that integrates critical IoT connectivity functions into a single, tiny, ultra-low-power IC package.

The quality of irrigation water, as well as the correct management of water resources, is essential for the productivity and efficiency of the crops. Controlling and analysing water before irrigating is crucial and its quality may vary significantly depending on the time of the year. So frequent measurements are recommended.

The commoditisation of wireless attack tools is driving Wi-Fi hackers to focus their attention on intercepting and decoding traffic from wireless devices based on protocols such as Zigbee, Sigfox and Bluetooth along with RFID, LoRa, and 802.11 variations, according to researchers at WatchGuard Technologies.

The launch of the iPhone in 2007 took mobile operators by complete surprise – they simply weren’t prepared for the huge increase in mobile data usage generated by the devices, says Dr. Stamatis Georgoulis, product director, Cobham Wireless.

Too much choice can be a dangerous thing but, the vast diversity of IoT applications and business models depend on appropriate functionality being available at varying price points. George Malim examines the options.

Ercogener and the mechatronic division of the Groupe Zekat will participate in the WEF (World Electronic Forum) on the 27 and 28 October 2017 in Angers, France. They will show their telecom technology as well as their electronic expertise. Pascal Denoel, president of the Groupe Zekat, will be one of the top speakers and will present his vision of SMART IoT.