By Emeka Aginam

To address a number of roadblocks to accelerate the uptake of “Internet of Things”, IoT, for the benefit of both industry and consumers, Ericsson has built a targeted new suite of software upgrades .

The new software, according to Ericsson supports low-cost devices, extends battery life, improves deep indoor and rural coverage and offers service prioritization.

A live demonstrations with leading ecosystem partners of the solution will be featured at CTIA Super Mobility 2015 in Las Vegas from September 9 through 11, 2015.

An additional capability included in this software release, according to Ericsson is the enablement of service prioritization to optimize network resources while addressing the diversity of IoT use cases.

While Ericsson plays a role in all levels of IoT transformation, from rollout to enterprise and business processes, platforms and cloud and radio connectivity, Gartner has predicted that IoT will provide a $1.9 trillion increase in value across sectors in 2020.

It would be recalled that a globe-spanning network for the Internet of Things (IoT) has been built over the past 20 years that provides the coverage, security and reliability needed to connect us and bring intelligence to the things that surround the ecosystem.

Meanwhile, there are already more than 230 million cellular machine-to-machine (M2M) subscriptions for IoT devices, but certain challenges have limited the potential for large-scale adoption across a variety of use cases, namely: the cost of IoT devices, device battery life, and cellular coverage in both remote areas and deep inside buildings.

Speaking on the new development, Alain Maloberti, Senior Vice President Orange Labs Networks, Orange, said that, “The Internet of Things has so much potential. We are committed to working with key IoT companies to support innovations that enhance the day-to-day lives of our consumer and business customers. We are really pleased to see Ericsson working with leading ecosystem players to address the cost, coverage and battery life issues that have hindered broader mass uptake of IoT applications. We see that the best is yet to come.”

Also speaking, Park Jin-hyo, Senior Vice President and Head of Network R&D Center, SK Telecom, added that, “Our ambition is to set the pace for mobile networks, so we are already proactively building toward 5G technology, which will include an evolution of today’s LTE and innovations driven by new IoT use cases. Connectivity underlies everything we do and Ericsson’s latest innovations enhance both networks and devices so that we can develop new IoT opportunities in Korea. This is sure to accelerate uptake of IoT and allow us to quickly reach our customers with useful IoT services.”

According to Matt Hatton, Founder & CEO, Machina Research, “For IoT to truly erupt, standardization is vital and interoperability is key. By working with big names like Intel and other IoT ecosystem players like Altair, Sequans and Telit, Ericsson is ensuring that opportunities for efficiencies are not missed and that the device and network ecosystem develop in synch.”

Working with its ecosystem partners, advances in Ericsson’s new IoT Networks Software 16B, according to him, delivers reduced IoT device cost, extended battery life, improved indoor coverage, among others.

Speaking further on the new development, Ken Stewart, Chief Wireless Technologist and Fellow, Intel Corporation, said that , “Connectivity is critical to mass adoption of new IoT applications for smart cities and industries.

“Intel is helping clear the path for IoT’s rapid growth through its research and development of cutting-edge new technologies, and by working closely with ecosystem partners. We are pleased to collaborate with Ericsson to jointly drive standards adoption of solutions that can be used immediately on existing operator networks.”

Arun Bansal, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Unit Radio, Ericsson, further explained that, “We are accelerating IoT growth on existing LTE and GSM networks to ensure a global foundation for a vast range of new consumer, industry and government applications, from Smart Cities to connected farms.

“With our leading national and multi-national operator customers, like SK Telecom and Orange, and ecosystem partners like Intel, we are co-creating end-to-end IoT network and device solutions that harness the power of reliable, globally scalable, standards-based systems and services. These innovations put our mobile operator customers solidly on the road to 5G.”

A vibrant ecosystem that spans devices, services and the network is the key to success for IoT mass market adoption.

Ericsson, together with leading ecosystem players, is driving key functionality for standardization and helping to bring IoT devices to the market faster by interoperability testing (IoDT).