Dish Network bought connected parking technology company ParkiFi, specializing in IoT-enabled wireless parking sensors, and will continue to operate under that brand, Dish said Thursday. Dish noted plans to build its own national narrowband IoT network by early 2020 (see 1703080026).

Sleep Number is offering every NFL player a smart bed under a multiyear partnership with the league designed to help maximize sleep and improve players’ performance. Sleep Number will work with players, teams and trainers as they integrate sleep insights into their regimens, it said. Biometrics from Sleep Number’s SleepIQ technology will help players understand how better sleep affects their performance on the field, said the company, which will get the data to add to its sleep analytics, it said. The company has worked with the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings in the past, it said.

General Electric, active in the past on the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio services band, met FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to urge the agency to stick with a plan to license priority access licenses on a census-tract basis. The FCC is examining whether it should instead license the PALs in larger sizes, as proposed by wireless carriers (see 1710240050). “Census-tract licensing is critically important to GE and its industrial and critical-infrastructure customers, since the CBRS band is an ideal spectrum platform for the ‘Industrial Internet of Things’ (IIoT) and can serve as a unique catalyst for accelerated growth throughout the U.S. industrial and manufacturing sector,” GE filed Wednesday in docket 17-258. “Robust IIoT applications require significant spectrum, secure localized networks, and specialized technology, and today industrial and critical-infrastructure entities are typically unable to obtain the necessary wireless functionality from commercial mobile operators on a cost-effective basis.” Also on 3.5 GHz, GeoLinks CEO Skyler Ditchfield and others from the wireless ISP explained the importance of the band to his company. Ditchfield met over two days with officials, including all FCC members other than Jessica Rosenworcel. “The Company explained the challenge of operating on unlicensed bands such as 5 GHz in urban environments, where overcrowding can slow and disrupt service,” said a Wednesday filing. “It could provide better and more reliable service, including Gigabit service to the home, if the Company had access to sufficient licensed or lightly licensed spectrum.”

Parking reservation service SpotHero announced an integration with Google Assistant, enabling users to book parking with voice commands. Drivers with Android Auto will be able to use SpotHero and Google Assistant to find and pay for parking from a vehicle, hands-free, in 50 major North American markets, said the company. Android smartphone and iOS users can engage the service via app by saying, “Hey Google, book parking,” it said.

The first fruits of Hubbell’s April iDevices acquisition (see 1704280029) appeared Wednesday at CES in jointly developed products showing the companies’ breadth in the IoT. IDevices introduced an electric vehicle (EV) charger that can be controlled, monitored and scheduled from a mobile device, and bowed a ceiling fan switch capable of control by voice or a mobile device. The products are the first of many innovations to come that combine iDevices’ IoT experience with Hubbell’s 130 years of manufacturing and distribution experience, said iDevices President Chris Allen. The EV charger doesn’t require a hub, works with Alexa and Google Assistant and is compatible with Android and iOS devices; it comes in hardwired and plug-in module versions that mount to a garage wall. The ceiling fan switch fits in a traditional gang box and works with any standard rocker faceplate, said the company. Prices weren’t given for the products, which are due later this year.

It would be a mistake for Dish Network to devote large quantities of wireless spectrum to the IoT, NPD analyst Eddie Hold said in a blog post. Dish's Charlie Ergen, who since stepped down as CEO to focus on the wireless business but remains chairman (see 1712050016), said in November that Dish was on track to deploy its narrowband IoT network in 2018 (see 1711160057). NPD cautioned against the move as it relates to smart home and smart meters. Many utility companies already have determined their IoT strategy and are installing smart meters today, Hold said Thursday. “By the time Dish builds out the necessary network, most of the near-term market opportunity will have been tied up in long-term contracts.” Hold suggested instead that Dish provide a cellular network to support long-range management of commercial drones. That inevitably leads to Amazon, which has led the way on drone use for commercial delivery. Many commercial drone opportunities are local, but Amazon’s “implied strategy around drones is far broader, both in terms of aspirations and geographical scope,” Hold said. Amazon needs a wireless strategy underlying the service, he said, offering the possibility of Amazon working with an existing mobile carrier to create an “IoT service-level agreement to support the drone needs.” Amazon and Dish could establish a joint venture to build the new wireless network, which could be a venture that allows Amazon to support its drone strategy, or a full-scale partnership, wherein the two companies combine forces in mobile “to build something far greater, and with more of a consumer focus,” Hold said. Merging the assets would allow Dish and Amazon to enter the mobile market “in a far more aggressive way, creating a competitor that will threaten the current status quo.”

Samsung announced Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) 1.3 certification for its Artik 05x series of system-on-modules. Artik 05x enables companies to build Wi-Fi-enabled edge products that meet OCF interoperability standards, ensuring they will work with other OCF-certified IoT devices regardless of form factor, operating system or service provider, Samsung said. The pre-certified Artik modules include processors, memory, communications, security and software to enable companies to “jump start development” of products ranging from sensors and controllers to home appliances, healthcare monitors and smart factory gateways, it said.

The FTC would be required to create consumer tips for IoT security under a bill introduced Thursday by Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. The bill, part of the senators' broader effort to improve cybersecurity, would have the FTC help consumers identify the level of security support from an IoT device vendor; explain the need to update software and how to fix compromised devices; and show consumers how to reset, delete or modify data collected by a deactivated IoT device. The FTC had no comment.

Over half (54 percent) of U.S. broadband households see little value in sharing their data with companies, and 42 percent don’t trust companies can keep their data safe, said a Monday Parks Associates blog post. "Consumers are caught between their security concerns of sharing personal data" and wanting to "unlock the value in the complete IoT ecosystem,” said Autumn Braswell, chief operating officer-global solutions marketing at iQor, who will present at a session on privacy and support during Parks’ Connections conference Jan. 9 at CES. Consumers can’t receive the benefits of the IoT world and not share any of their data, said Leon Kuperman, Cujo chief technology officer, also a panelist. "The balance between benefits and the data you provide is something a user has to consider when choosing services and products they use,” Kuperman said, and consumers need to “take precautions to protect their data and privacy whenever possible." Panelist Alton Martin, chief evangelist of Trusource Labs, said OEMs need to “convey and instill confidence that not only do their products work well, but they are secure and will not allow a consumer's home and family privacy to be violated.” Martin warned of the “negative blowback if IoT devices in the home suddenly became untrustworthy. They'd be disconnected in droves." Sami Nassar, NXP vice president-cybersecurity, said IoT brands need to work with ecosystem partners to set security and quality benchmarks, and data privacy protection legislation is necessary to enforce certifications. “The promise of IoT could be lost if consumers don't trust their devices,” said Nassar. Panelist Richard Wolpert, HelloTech CEO, said data is necessary for manufacturers to improve their products, improve customer satisfaction and reduce the risk of product returns.

Worldwide IoT spending will reach $772.5 billion in 2018, up 14.6 percent from this year, and reaching $1.1 trillion in 2021, IDC reported Thursday. Hardware will account for most spending next year, largely for modules and sensors, with some spending on infrastructure and security, IDC said. Services will be the second largest technology category, followed by software and connectivity, led by application and analytics software, it said. Industries spending the most on IoT solutions next year will be manufacturing ($189 billion), transportation ($85 billion) and utilities ($73 billion), it said.