Comms Alliance forms IoT think tank

Industry research group to promote regulatory settings that help Australia embrace digital future

An Internet of Things think tank created by Communications Alliance will look for ways to create an ecosystem in Australia that promotes IoT and a digital world.

Comms Alliance CEO John Stanton announced the industry research project today at the Rewind: Fast Forward conference in Sydney. The think tank will include Comms Alliance members and other commercial partners, with CreatorTech acting as a consultant.

The group has an objective of creating an “activated IoT industry community” by mid-2016, Comms Alliance said.

This includes writing a strategy that is supported by industry and the federal government and dovetails with the government’s deregulatory and red-tape reduction programs, it said.

Stanton said the rapid emergence of the IoT is a significant opportunity but could also be a threat depending on whether and how the nation responds.

“The proliferation and business relevance of the ‘Internet of Things’ and communications services based on the capabilities that a connected environment engenders, are growing rapidly worldwide,” he said in a statement.

“IoT is the next massive disruptor in the global communications environment and today we stand at the base of a growth curve that will steepen dramatically over the next 10 years.”

The number of connected devices worldwide is expected to grow to 30 billion by 2020, with the most rapid growth expected in the Asia Pacific market, according to the Comms Alliance.

Comms Alliance pointed to several regulatory toggles that could act as enablers or inhibitors depending on how they’re set.

These include roaming rules, numbering schemes, data sovereignty, identity management and privacy, access security, spectrum allocation and cost, and access to low-cost, low-data access networks.

In a recent interview, Cisco vice president of global technology policy, Robert Pepper, said government bodies and other organisation in Australia must change their cultures and disrupt themselves if they want to succeed in the digital future.

Adam Bender covers telco and enterprise tech issues for Computerworld and is the author of dystopian sci-fi novels We, The Watched and Divided We Fall. Follow him on Twitter: @WatchAdam

Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU, or take part in the Computerworld conversation on LinkedIn: Computerworld Australia

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.

Tags AustraliaCommunications AlliancedisruptionInternet of ThingsComms Alliance

More about CiscoCommunications Alliance

Show Comments
[]