Verizon exec John Stratton laid out hurdles still facing the telecom market in cracking the IoT space, but noted benefit awaits
LAS VEGAS – Verizon Communications is looking to expand its position in the expansive “internet of things” space, which was one of the main topics of conversation at this week’s CTIA Super Mobility event.
Speaking during a keynote session at the trade show, John Stratton, EVP and president of operations at Verizon, noted that while the challenges to implementing and supporting all things set to be part of IoT are daunting, the reward looks worthy of the risk.
“It’s clear there is a multibillion-dollar opportunity for our industry right in front of us,” Stratton said. “The risk is that we are paralyzed and don’t scale this to the massive level needed. … We have the opportunity t power these game-changing platforms that power IoT.”
In terms of the challenges, Stratton cited three significant hurdles in public policy, expanding of the ecosystem and the need to relate with communities set to benefit from IoT.
Stratton explained the first step in the internal process is enabling a network to support billions of connected devices generating 10,000-times more traffic with mission-critical levels of security and support. The move for Verizon down this path started with its LTE networks, has been boosted by recent advances to that network under the “LTE Advanced” banner and are setting up the eventual launch of ”5G” technologies.
That work on 5G, which Stratton said the carrier internally dubs wireless fiber, includes a new approach to designing and deploying a network. This includes its recent agreement with the city of Boston for the deployment of fiber capable of powering wired and wireless network assets.
Stratton wrapped up the discussion by again going back to the challenges still facing the industry in terms of cracking the IoT code, reiterating the risk will be worth the reward.
“We believe whoever embraces the responsibility will benefit,” Stratton said.
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