TECHNOLOGY
IF ANY ORGANIZATION tracks trends and sets the agenda of the mobile industry , it is the GSMA .
Uniting the interests of more than 1,000 network operators and suppliers in the mobile ecosystem , the association is also behind the industry ’ s flagship events , not least Barcelona ’ s annual Mobile World Congress ( MWC ).
Welcoming more than 108,000 visitors in February , MWC is the ideal platform for mobile players to launch their latest innovations , whether it be new handsets and gadgets , network enhancements or pioneering applications in IoT .
It is the latter which has become the subject of so much recent discussion , enough to warrant GSMA hosting its fifth Global Mobile IoT Summit in San Francisco in September . The prologue to this year ’ s event – a study by Machina Research predicting that IoT will be worth $ 1.8trn to mobile network operators by 2026 .
Andrew Parker , GSMA ’ s Programme Marketing Director for the Internet of Things , is tasked with raising the profile of IoT in the mobile industry . No mean task , but one that is already in motion .
“ In many people ’ s eyes , the Internet of Things is still a vision ,” he says . “ However , it ’ s all a reality now . It is unusual for the mobile industry to act so quick – usually a move this big takes many years , but what we have seen in three years is momentous .
“ The overriding mission is to mobilise the Internet of Things and we think that mobile is the most powerful , scaled platform to do that . The mobile industry can add serious value here .” The $ 1.8trn opportunity Parker goes on to explain that the $ 1.8trn figure emerged from three levels : connection and connectivity ; the platform layer , i . e . bringing connections together ; and the applications and analytics which run on top of that .
“ The reason the figure is so big is because it covers so many perspectives ,” he adds . “ We could have published $ 3trn if we included more indirect things like consultancy work .”
Parker and the GSMA are noticing a growing uptake of dedicated IoT departments among its members , with 12 companies currently owning their own IoT networks . These include AT & T , Telstra , Verizon , China
18 December 2017