Global spending on IoT deployments is expected to grow 16.7 percent year over year in 2017, reaching just over $800 billion, IDC said in a Wednesday report. By 2021, global IoT spending is expected to total nearly $1.4 trillion “as organizations continue to invest in the hardware, software, services, and connectivity that enable the IoT,” IDC said. "The discussion about IoT has shifted away from the number of devices connected," it said. "The true value of IoT is being realized when the software and services come together to enable the capture, interpretation, and action on data produced by IoT endpoints.” Hardware will be the largest spending category until the last year of the five-year forecast, when the faster-growing services category will overtake it, IDC said.

Technology distributor Avnet plans IoT workshops for hardware and app designers in 10 cities through the beginning of October, it announced Wednesday. The workshops are built around Avnet’s SK002 Visible Things IoT starter kit comprising hardware and software to connect smart sensors and embedded devices via gateway solutions or low-power wide area networking technologies to the cloud and smart enterprise software, Avnet said. The one-day workshops will include technical instruction and labs developed by Avnet experts and members of the distributor’s extended partner ecosystem, it said. The Visible Things ecosystem enables designers to begin product development at the API (application programming interface) level, reducing cost and time to market, said the company. Workshops will be in Dallas (June 28); Chicago (July 18); Minneapolis (July 20); Irvine, California (Aug. 15); San Jose (Aug. 17); Toronto (Sept. 18); Boston (Sept. 20); Philadelphia (Sept. 26); Baltimore (Sept. 28); and Vancouver, British Columbia (Oct. 4). The $99 registration fee includes an IoT gateway and sensor module, it said.

Security and privacy for IoT devices were concerns for industry representatives and some House Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee members at a Tuesday hearing (see 1706120027). IoT device proliferation seemingly "opens the door for a virtual smorgasbord of bad actors and malware being developed," said Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va. "What role ... should we be playing to try to correct that?" Bill Kuhns, Vermont Energy Control Systems director-product development, said industry can try to make sure devices are as secure as possible, and more effective national and international law enforcement response is needed. "If I’m in my house and somebody’s going around rattling the door, I can call the police and say, 'Hey, there’s a bad guy trying to get in.' In the internet, people are rattling my doorknob hundreds of times per day and there’s not anyone I can call," he said. In response to questions from Republican Reps. Leonard Lance of New Jersey and Gus Bilirakis of Florida, Integra Devices Chief Technology Officer Mark Bachman said privacy for consumer-facing products is a big concern and is continuously evolving with no single standard. Ideas such as end-to-end encryption and better authentication are needed, but he said an independent watchdog that could certify products as "safe" similar to EPA's Energy Star program would help consumers and industry. Bachman said industry should also be required to disclose what and when data is collected and with whom it's shared. Latta asked Peter Kosak, General Motors North America executive director-urban active solutions, what efforts GM and the auto industry are making to protect against cyberattacks. Kosak said the GM team responsible for the issue is growing, and cybersecurity is being designed into systems from the outset. Auto companies are sharing best practices and any information about attacks among themselves and with defense and aerospace industries, he said. Electronic Privacy Information Center President Marc Rotenberg and Policy Director Caitriona Fitzgerald meanwhile wrote Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and ranking member Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., to consider privacy and security in legislation. Unregulated collection of personal data and IoT growth "led to staggering increases in identity theft, security breaches, and financial fraud," they said: A "recent law enforcement request for Amazon Echo recordings shows that 'always on' devices will be much sought-after sources of information by law enforcement, foreign and domestic intelligence agencies, and, inevitably, cybercriminals" (see 1703070053 and 1701060025).

Underwriters Laboratories completed the first Thread testing for NXP Semiconductors, it said in a Monday announcement. NXP’s Kinetis KW41Z wireless microcontroller unit enables connectivity and control and can be designed into IoT applications for home control, fitness monitoring, asset monitoring and metering, UL said. UL began working with the Thread Group in 2015 to develop the certification program.

Crown Castle International officials met with analysts in New York and forecast a bright future for small cells, analysts emailed investors. The company said it had 25,000 small-cell nodes “in its current pipeline,” said Jennifer Fritzsche of Wells Fargo: “Expect to see annual run-rate to emerge over the next 18-24 months. In order to achieve its small cell targets, CCI noted it would require a lot of external labor. The company estimates that of its current markets, CCI wins about 50 percent share of small cell builds, with the balance being a mix of carrier self-perform builds or other competitors.” Executives said earnings on small cells have been above its expectations in markets where the company owns the underlying fiber, Fritzsche said. CCI officials said “small cell deployment is not even in the early innings,” reported Amy Yong of Macquarie Capital. Fifth generation "will expand the wireless landscape as low latency becomes the norm and speed/capacity increase exponentially,” Yong wrote. “New entrants could include IoT, auto manufacturers in their pursuit of the connected car, and Silicon Valley. Small cells and [millimeter wave] will be deployed in dense urban areas, but nationwide 5G will leverage low-mid band spectrum.”

The FCC released an updated Mapping Broadband Health in America platform through its Connect2Health Task Force. “The 2017 platform now reflects the latest complete annual fixed broadband dataset from the Commission and updated health data from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s County Health Rankings,” the FCC said in a Thursday news release. “As telehealth, telemedicine, and other cutting-edge mHealth initiatives gain momentum across the country, this web-based mapping platform enables more efficient, data-driven decision making at the intersection of broadband and health.” The FCC said data is a first step for everything from “better leveraging broadband to help manage chronic health conditions for seniors in Giles County, Tennessee” to reducing post-surgical pain “through Virtual Reality applications in Barbour County, West Virginia.” The FCC said nearly half of U.S. counties have high incidents of chronic disease and a need for better broadband connectivity. “That translates to over 36 million people who live in counties with a ‘double burden’ of need -- an increase of 1 million between 2014 and 2015,” the agency said. The data shows preventable hospitalizations are 150 percent higher in the least-connected counties compared with other counties, it said. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said the data shows the situation remains bleak for many Americans. “By investing in this vital broadband health mapping platform and unveiling a new list of critical need counties, the Commission is providing the data needed to ensure connectivity reaches those communities most in need," she said. "I am confident that when relevant stakeholders work together across sectors, we will successfully break boundaries at the intersection of broadband and health policy.”

The House Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee plans an IoT-focused technology showcase June 13, the House Commerce Committee said Tuesday. Qualcomm, Panasonic and 18 other companies will display their IoT products and discuss how the technology “is changing the way they do business,” House Commerce said. The event is to begin at 9 a.m. in the Rayburn Foyer. Digital Commerce Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta (R-Ohio) is to speak Thursday morning at an IoT cybersecurity event.

Sigma Designs joined the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) to ensure interoperability between Z-Wave and OCF devices and to help define a standard for future OCF IoT devices, it announced. In August, Sigma released the Z-Wave specification publicly to give cloud service developers, gateway manufacturers, tech enthusiasts and makers access to the Z-Wave interoperability layer for development of smart home applications, said the company. Developers can create plug-ins for connections through OCF and cloud-based services to work directly with Z-Wave products and gateways, it said. Public Z-Wave includes access to the Z-Wave interoperability layer, the application program interface, the specification for Z-Wave over IP, Z-Wave middleware software products and Z-Wave’s S2 security application framework, it said. OCF “complements our direction to standardize and simplify the IoT smart home market for an open, unified method of accessing all IoT devices,” said Raoul Wijgergangs, vice president-Z-Wave at Sigma Designs. Z-Wave has an installed base of more than 70 million devices worldwide, chipmaker Sigma said.

The Congressional Research Service outlined tech issues facing this Congress, in a 41-page report last week. “Science and technology (S&T) have a pervasive influence over a wide range of issues confronting the nation,” CRS said, citing broadband and IoT. CRS eyed the telecom implications of the Agriculture Department’s two years to implement a food labeling law, which will be studied within a year of implementation of the new rules: “Concerns have been raised that such digital methods of disclosure,” via a smartphone QR code, “could have differential impacts on those without cell phones (e.g., the elderly, low-income families) and those without access to high-speed broadband. The required study is to specifically address the availability of wireless or cellular networks, availability of landline telephones in stores, and particular factors that might affect small retailers and rural retailers as well as consumers.” CRS said net neutrality consensus “remains elusive.”

Wireless is important for everything from healthcare and education to improved public safety and smart cities, said Wireless Infrastructure Association President Jonathan Adelstein at the start of the group’s annual meeting Tuesday in Orlando, Florida. “That’s why we are getting so much support in Washington and state capitals around the country,” he said. Zayo CEO Dan Caruso said there won’t be winners and losers from 5G -- everyone wins: “Wireless carriers obviously benefit, it expands their opportunity.” Tower companies, fiber providers and even content and web companies will see benefits, he said. “The question is how do we get there.”