Telcos: realizing the potential of the Internet of Things

For the last 30 years, the growth of the mobile business has been built on a cycle of extending new services to the world's 7.9 billion consumers.

First Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) sold voice. Then came basic content and smartphones. More recently, MNOs have successfully sold data packages with extras such as streaming entertainment.

They have done this well, successfully connecting the world. 

The numbers back this up. According to Ericsson, in Q4 2020, the total number of mobile subscriptions was around 8 billion. That's a penetration rate of 102 percent. And, 4.5 billion people have an LTE connection.

So where can the MNOs go next? The answer is to look beyond people. 

In short: to connected objects.

Giving machines the ability to 'talk' to each other is nothing new, of course. Some argue that the Internet of Things (IoT) began with a connected Coke dispenser back in the 1980s.

However, it's also the case that – after a decade of steady growth – the IoT is now set for a huge growth spurt.

By 2025, forecasts suggest that there could be as many as 75 billion IoT connected devices in use. This would be nearly 3x the installed base in 2019. 

And the reason for this surge? 5G.
 

5G: primed to start an IoT revolution

There are many ways to connect an IoT device. Satellite, WiFi, Bluetooth, RFID, NFC, Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) and Ethernet are all options. But there are always trade-offs around range, power consumption, bandwidth and so on. 

The perfect IoT connectivity option would consume extremely little power, extend to the remotest locations, and transmit large amounts of data.

5G comes closest. 

On average, 5G can connect 10 times more connected objects per square kilometer than 4G, and can move data at up to 100x higher speeds.

MNOs know 5G represents an unmissable opportunity for them in the IoT.

Randall Stephenson, the retired CEO of AT&T, said. “With today’s networks in a square mile you can connect a thousand, two thousand, or possibly three thousand Internet of Things devices and sensors. In a 5G world, you can connect millions of those in a square mile.”

Stephenson made those comments in 2019, when there were just a handful of live 5G launches. Today, there are 162 commercial 5G services, and multiple industries are already working on eye-catching 5G connected object use cases.

Take the connected car, To get to 'Level 3 autonomous driving' (in which the car self-drives, but “asks” the driver to take over if something goes wrong), a vehicle needs to transmit a lot of data to the transport network and to other cars. This data has to move at low latency, with guaranteed network coverage and a minimum data rate for specific applications. 

5G can support these demands – and manufacturers such as BMW are already at work on live deployments. BMW announced that its iNext electric vehicle will ship with built-in 5G connectivity from later this year. 

However, vehicle makers don't just see 5G as something to improve the driving experience. They also recognise its ability to change the way they build cars – by connecting smart IoT devices in highly automated manufacturing plants. 

This work has already started. In 2020, Mercedes-Benz Cars opened what it says is the world's first 5G mobile network for automobile production at its "Factory 56" facility in Sindelfingen, Germany. 

Factory 56 is just one of many similar projects in automotive. But the trend spans multiple verticals. Example? The collaboration between KT and Hyundai Heavy Industries Group to develop 5G-based smart shipyards.

What makes the above projects possible is 5G's high data throughout speeds. But as we've seen, 5G can handle billions of simultaneous low capacity connections too. This throws up an array of possibilities, not least in healthcare. 

The COVID pandemic has already demonstrated the case for accurate universal monitoring of millions of individuals. In a similar vein, providers are exploring the potential of 5G to power always-on wearables that can send data back to clinicians.  

Needless to say, these kinds of ideas could transform the way healthcare is delivered. Ericsson predicts a $76 billion-revenue opportunity by 2026 for operators addressing telemedicine with 5G. 
 

The big challenge: keeping the IoT safe

While the IoT brings with it a world of possibilities, it also ushers in new threats. 
Billions of connected objects create billions of potential entry points for cyber attackers. Just one unsecured device could give criminals the ability to breach an otherwise secure system.

Regrettably, IoT products often lack good protection. These connected objects can be made by consumer electronics companies with little experience in cyber security.

To mitigate this, telcos and other service providers should adopt a secure-by-design approach to IoT architecture. In other words, build in security features from the ground up.

There are three keys to this.

1. Start with a security risk analysis. List your threats, vulnerabilities, the probability of an attack, and the impact of that attack.

2. Put in a solid foundation of trusted digital device IDs and credentials. Store them in the roots of devices at the manufacturing stage. These credentials can prevent device cloning, tampering and theft.

3. Store IDs and other credentials in a tamper-resistant 'secure element'. 
 

Of course, one way to achieve security by design is to choose cyber secure connectivity products.

How to connect millions of objects securely?

For many years we’ve been connecting things using IoT modules, terminals and modem cards. Objects aren’t static and need to support a variety of network types such as Bluetooth, LoRa and 5G itself. Selecting the right IoT module technology will speed up time to market and ultimately improve ROI.  

Every connected object needs a SIM to connect to a cellular network. But in the IoT, the manually-inserted SIM familiar to phone users isn’t ideal. Why? Because connected objects are frequently located in hard-to-reach places or exposed to heat and vibration. 

For this reason, the mobile industry created the eSIM, which is soldered into place and measures 2.5mm by 2.3mm – a 60x smaller footprint than the nano-SIM. As of early 2020, over 200 mobile network operators had launched or were planning to launch eSIM services.

Further ahead is an upgrade called the Integrated SIM (iSIM). It's not even physical. Instead the iSIM is coded directly into the chipset – which further reduces the cost of distribution and power consumption.

Whatever the SIM form factor, service providers need a way to connect objects to the right network wherever it’s delivered around the world and keep track of the millions or even billions of IoT devices in the field. They can do this with an eSIM Management Platform. It can connect objects out of the box, monitor device behaviour to detect anomalies in real-time, and send over the air updates. Companies such as Thales, with a long history in network security, are continually updating their IoT products (such as IoT modules, terminals, modem cards and SIMs) with stronger defences.