Samsung Electronics to commit $1.2 bn to US research for IoT ventures

Samsung Electronics is committing $1.2 billion to US research and project support for Internet of Things ventures over the next four years, as it seeks to push varied IoT projects ranging from consumer services to industrial and healthcare initiatives.

At a Washington symposium Tuesday, Samsung vice chairman/CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon also unveiled the "National IoT Strategy Dialogue," a consortium of technology companies that aims to address the upcoming Department of Commerce IoT proceeding and the pending "Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things" Act in Congress.

Intel is the initial co-founder, and the Information Technology Industry Council would manage "Strategy Dialogue" advocacy group, which would seek additional members from the technology and communications sectors.

At the Samsung-sponsored ''Internet of Things – Transforming the Future'' conference Kwon called on IoT advocates prioritise "technologies that connect each other." He urged that organisations ''start talking and thinking differently about IoT,'' and recommended greater concentration on "a human-centered approach, embracing the life-changing possibilities of the technology."

Government and technology leaders present at the event offered a variety of perspectives on the evolving IoT infrastructure, which many expect would find its first major acceptance in enterprise and industrial applications, including "smart city" ventures, a topic that many cable operators, along with other telecom providers were exploring.

Meanwhile, though the Internet of Things (IoT) is being touted as a future money spinner for industries, one analyst says telcos would not be reaping  5G-related windfalls from IoT any time soon.

RCRwirelss reported that New Street Research partner Andrew Entwistle dismissed the future of IoT and its relationship to 5G wireless networks, saying  that it did not offer ''any business case for a telecoms operator.'' He was speaking at a 5G seminar in Australia.

Entwistle's take runs contrary to the popular industry sentiment that 5G's role as IoT enabler would open up new vertical revenue streams for operators.

''I'm perfectly prepared to accept that the internet of things is extraordinarily interesting to equipment makers and vendors, to systems integrators, to policymakers, and to people concerned with the social role of communications services in our lives,'' said Entwistle.

''But there is an awful lot of noise about the internet of things that doesn't actually translate into, to put it strongly, a whole hill of beans for the telecoms operator who's looking to sell services to achieve revenue per customer or revenue per device.''