Mobile networks aren’t ready for IoT say 60% of telecoms professionals

Nearly two in every three people in the telecoms industry think current mobile network infrastructure won’t be able to support the future of IoT, according to a new report by Telecoms.com Intelligence.

Exactly 900 telecoms professionals shared their views on all things related to IoT in an in-depth industry review now available on Telecoms.com; and one of the biggest trends highlighted in the 25 page report suggests operators aren’t quite ready to fully support the full weight of IoT on their radio networks, despite promising growth in IoT deployments over the past twelve months.

Additional views from the industry suggests security will be one of the most dominant areas of concern for operators in a fully connected Internet of Things world, as more than two thirds of respondents said the operator IoT network will be more vulnerable to malicious attacks than existing services due to the sheer number of devices connecting to the network and sending data everywhere. As a result, a similar percentage of respondents also said IoT will present new and unique security challenges operators need to keep on top of.

It isn’t just in the 2016 version of the IoT Outlook where consumer offerings have risen up to be the most potentially positive IoT trend identified by the audience. In last year’s edition more people voted for home automation and connected cars than any other as the most traditional IoT-ish use case; while a poll run on Telecoms.com saw devices and home automation each dominate the popularity rankings when asked a similar question.

Reflecting on trends identified over the past year, where we saw consumer IoT as the most identified-with by our readers time and again, we asked which subsection of consumer IoT has the most potential. The most popular response by some distance suggested smart home technology is likely to be the most lucrative or game-changing opportunity for operators. Considering some facets of IoT in the home are well on the road to maturity and monetisation this year, including metering, security, surveillance and home automation, consumer IoT might be closer to reality than we previously realised. Elsewhere, utility monitoring, mobile, connected cars and healthcare received comparatively favourable results from the audience, receiving 17%, 15%, 12% and 11% respectively.

The whole report features an analysis of the broader IoT market, as well as individual deep dives into industrial and consumer IoT services, as well as features on optimising connectivity, cloud platforms and information security all in an IoT context.

The IoT Outlook 2016 is free to download from Telecoms.com Intelligence here.