It is a new week (well, nearly) so it must be time for a new Internet of Things consortium or standards initiative. Please welcome the Wireless IOT Forum which is being established with William Webb, President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) as its head.
This blog has already addressed the multitude of standards in the Internet of Things space. In fairness this new grouping aims to bring together some form of coherence in wide area technologies – the radio links that connect sensors and ‘things’ back to the Internet. Unlike traditional mobile networks, there are a multitude of technologies that use licensed, unlicensed and TV white space bands, so some consolidation and consistency will benefit the industry. However a quick scan through the Forum’s fledgeling website indicates a fairly broad remit that includes marketing, applications, connectivity and regulatory groups – a scope that seems to be very ambitious. No founding members have been announced, and it will be interesting to see if this initiative genuinely gains industry momentum across the technology ecosystem, and beyond the shores of the UK, where this is being set up. If not, it will be yet another standards/non-standards body to throw on the pile of IoT organisations.
