Ericsson unveils new cunning plan for IoT

In the hope that IoT is finally set to explode, Ericsson has created some new business units and products to make sure it’s ready.

Ericsson is dividing cellular IoT into four bits: Massive IoT, Broadband IoT, Critical IoT, and Industrial Automation IoT, but apparently only the broadband and industrial ones are new. The broadband bit supports higher data rates and lower latencies than the massive bit, while the industrial automation bit is pretty self-explanatory.

Your basic, vanilla version is still massive IoT, however, and Ericsson reminded us that it has extended the range of NB-IoT from 40 km to 100 kn just by tweaking the software. One clear use-case for the more powerful broadband flavour of IoT is drones and Ericsson talked up a bunch of innovations in that area too.

“Cellular IoT is moving from early adoption with Massive IoT to global rollout,” said Fredrik Jejdling, Head of Networks at Ericsson. “We are now describing what’s next for our customers and how they can make the most out of their 4G and 5G investments on the same network and address more advanced IoT use cases across industries.”

Ericsson seems to think breaking IoT down into easier-to-swallow chunks might make it easier for service providers to match the technology to the customer. This new cunning plan is also designed to make the journey from basic IoT to the more advanced, bespoke flavours easier to get your head around. Let’s see.