Telecom, Tech Companies Seek National IoT Strategy, Light-Touch Rule Approach
Telecom, Internet and technology sector representatives backed a light-touch regulatory approach to the IoT to ensure continued innovation, during an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation event Wednesday. ITIF's Center for Data Innovation released a report Wednesday detailing reasons the U.S. and other countries should adopt national strategies for IoT. It urged the government to adopt "smart public policies" for the IoT, including resisting the impulse to regulate or, if needed, regulating with a light touch. "We need an active strategy to make sure we don't get [IoT development] wrong and that we get it right," said ITIF President Robert Atkinson.
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Steve Crout, Qualcomm vice president-government affairs, said he agrees "wholeheartedly" that there's a need for a national strategy on the IoT. "There are bits and pieces being done [in the IoT] across the federal government, which are great, but there really is a need to coordinate all these activities under one national plan," he said. Crout said the government is undertaking several initiatives in the IoT, most notably a smart cities initiative, but he would like to see more coordination among government agencies.
Jeff Brueggeman, AT&T vice president-global public policy, backed a national strategy, saying "the time is right." Brueggeman wants a light-touch governmental approach, and said a lot of IoT-related areas are "going to probably work just fine" in the private sector if government regulation doesn't get in the way. But there are some "interesting opportunities" for the government to help with the IoT, he said. "It's very difficult for the federal government to have a long-term [technology] plan," said Brueggeman, but "there really is an opportunity for the federal government to embark on what is going to be a longer-term transition [to IoT]." Separating IoT-related activities by governmental department runs the risk of duplicative and inconsistent regulation, said Brueggeman. "In the absence of a strategy, we run the risk of having this patchwork quilt and fusion of regulation, and it creates a lot of issues not only for consumers and for the industry."
Mark Ryland, Amazon Web Services worldwide public sector director, said a bottom-up approach to government IoT could be necessary, since strategies don't always resonate with people until they "see some actual benefit." Ryland said Amazon looks at the IoT from a broader perspective, which takes into account the IoT, cloud services and big data -- all of which are "coming together in a kind of perfect storm of innovation."
Congressional IoT Caucus co-chairs Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., cited caucus efforts to make the IoT a more notable topic in Congress and to look closely at the connected technology from a legislative perspective. Issa said the IoT is challenged by government, and there's "so little" information in Congress about the technology. There needs to be a debate about IoT in Congress, including topics such as back-door encryption and device vulnerability, he said. "We have to find a way to create strong, safe, reliable connectivity," said Issa. "And if we do, then it is an almost unlimited potential for efficiency and, in fact, a better life for our families. If we fail to do so, and we get mired in the usual government bureaucracy, we will probably succeed, [but] we’ll just make it a lot harder." DelBene said it's important that Congress becomes more thoughtful and forward-looking about IoT policy, and makes sure they don't enact policies that prevent innovation or discourage interoperability. The IoT Caucus is exploring issues of bandwidth and gaining additional efficiencies for "low-powered devices," Issa said. It's also looking at the upgradability and obsolescence of IoT devices, which are thought of as having a short life but could be configured to update software to adapt with changing technology, said Issa.