Technology is not the barrier to scale IoT, it’s competence, management of, and appetite to take risk, albeit calculated

Telenor Connexion is one of the telecommunication operators on the forefront of IoT and enterprise digital transformation, managing more than 10 million connections across 80+ countries. Martin Whitlock, the company’s CTO, has a particularly important position in determining the technology strategy for IoT deployments where the devices, themselves, may be expected to remain in the field, unattended, for a decade, sometimes longer. It’s a challenge that Martin relishes, and his vision has helped further establish Telenor’s leadership position in the IoT industry.

In our recent conversation we concluded that technology is not really the barrier to implementing IoT solutions and to start the digital transformation of your enterprise. It is rather competence, governance, management of, and the willingness to take certain degree of risk as you embark on digitally transforming your business. And you might even be challenging your legacy business.

However, while technology is not the main barrier it doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges and questions to address regarding technology. Common question from Enterprises are

• Making long-term technology decisions about IoT solutions
• How to cost efficiently provide IoT services across multiples countries, many times global offering

Making long-term technology decisions about IoT solutions

One concern from Enterprises is to lock themselves in with technology that needs to be in operation for very long time. In many manufacturing facilities, sensors are placed deep inside equipment where they could be difficult to access. These use cases require that enabling technologies remain viable for a very long time, ideally for the lifetime of the equipment. Imagine sensors used in agriculture, construction, automotive and we get the picture.

Martin says, “thankfully, cellular technologies typically remain supported and in the field for a very long time.” Many IoT solutions running today operate using 2G, a cellular standard that’s nearly 30 years old. Operators are no longer investing in it, but it’s clear that it’s not going to disappear, even though many would prefer to see that spectrum used by a more efficient technology. Millions of devices in the field today require 2G. Even the European Union’s standard for emergency e-call service is based on 2G. So, from a connectivity point of view, organizations have very little to worry about with cellular technologies growing obsolete.

How to cost efficiently provide IoT services across multiples countries, many times global offering

This is a very common question I get Martin says. And there isn’t a one answer fits all. The answer lies in looking deep into the application or use case, understand the requirements to design a great solution and customer experience. That allows us to make the adjustments and technology choices.

For example, utilities that use IoT to power smart meters or large agricultural operations monitoring weather and soil need very efficient devices that can remain in the field with minimal to no maintenance for a long time. Because these use cases don’t require real-time data and are not particularly sensitive to latency, Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) is a good choice for connectivity. NB-IoT has limited throughput, but that’s not an issue for these kinds of applications, and its extreme efficiency is ideal in locations where it’s impractical to change batteries regularly.

Other use cases, however, such as connected cars, require real-time data with high throughput. In this case, cellular, and in particular, 5G, fits the bill. Cellular technology easily provides the throughput, speed and security required for these complex applications.

And finally, roaming is a challenge. This is why we do what we do at Telenor says Martin. With our IoT platform, we manage the complexity for our customers through the global IoT network enabling our customers to provide uninterrupted and seamless services irrespective of borders crossed. And to do it cost efficient.

As we conclude, it is clear that IoT is becoming a must-have technology for organizations as they digitize their businesses and to maintain competitive edge. This has been further emphasized during the COVID pandemic where a more digitally mature business has proven more resilient.

Tune in to the session - Talking IoT with Ericsson - to listen in on the full conversation, including our discussion on data security and data ownership, as well as Martin’s advice to talent wanting to make an exciting and meaningful journey in IoT.