Big data via satellite applications generated $580 million in retail revenue in 2016, and could hit nearly $2.4 billion by 2026, Northern Sky Research (NSR) said in a news release posted Monday. That growth will require satellite operators to integrate, process and analyze an increasing range of data from earth observation and IoT sources, it said. NSR said new satellite technology is leading to lower data acquisition, storage and processing costs.

SoC supplier Sigma Designs sees fiscal 2018 ending in January as “a transition year in our business as we begin to shift our focus from our historical target market” to that of “an IoT-focused company,” CEO Thinh Tran said on a Wednesday earnings call. “We are embarking on a long-term strategic shift to focus on developing IoT into full potential for our company while maintaining our connected smart TV platform as a base business.” In Sigma’s mobile IoT business, “we are in the process of productizing a technology that is completely unique in the cellular space,” he said. The technology has “an architecture that has been built from the ground up to service low-power, small-form-factor LTE-based mobile IoT applications,” he said. Sigma’s technology was “reviewed and refined by a top U.S. mobile carrier” that’s now “in the process of taking it to certification,” Tran said. “We believe our mobile product line will offer a sustainable competitive advantage for the foreseeable future.” Since demonstrating the technology at CES, “we are engaged with many more of the largest global mobile carriers,” he said. “We expect our first product to enter production and begin the revenue ramp in the second half of this year.”

Litigation and assigning legal blame when things go wrong with IoT devices, including autonomous vehicles and drones, are complex issues, with tort law not necessarily having caught up with technology, said experts at a Chamber of Commerce event webcast Wednesday. Litigation isn't a great way to improve security or to help the complex ecosystem figure out who should be doing what, said Wiley Rein's Megan Brown. "The decision-makers are not expert, far from it. And there's a lot, currently, of definitional uncertainty in what we're even talking about in the Internet of Things." She said the litigation system is "anathema" to collaboration and a speedy response and could have a "chilling effect" on companies and innovators to continue to improve security. She said fear of litigation could affect collaboration on a product within a company where communication isn't privileged or subject to confidentiality. States need to develop modern standards for evidentiary rules and approaches and the public needs to be better educated on basic cyber hygiene and products, she said. VMware Deputy General Counsel Laurie Hane said existing legal instruments are "blunt," not nuanced and don't account for IoT complexities. NSS Labs CEO Vikram Phatak said things will get worse before they get better because consumers will lose confidence in the products. He said he favors more transparency in the process, and in the future there may be fewer IoT players who may be held to a higher standard. Companies using drones worry about different legal issues. Vice President and Counsel Kevin Frederick said State Farm uses drones for things such as roof inspections and in catastrophes because they a safer and more efficient. He said drones are going to crash, hit things and potentially injure people, but he said his company's concern is the absence of or inconsistent law on privacy, nuisance and trespass. This is complicated due to federal and state laws on authority over drones and potential violations, he said. Roger Nober, executive vice president-law and corporate affairs, said his railway, BNSF, uses drones to inspect tracks and bridges. His company worries about missing something in the large amount of data collected that could cause an incident, he said.

Industry groups and other commenters backed the IoT green paper developed by NTIA and Department of Commerce, which posted the comments Wednesday (see 1703140022 and 1701120050). But many provided recommendations on improving the paper and IoT development approach. ACT|The App Association said the paper didn't adequately describe IoT's potential in fueling job growth and should have an "unambiguous policy recommendation" that an ex ante or ex post government action be based on data-driven evidence. "Government actions (or reactions) based on hypothetical and/or anecdotal harms will pose a significant threat to the innovation in the app ecosystem that will drive the growth of the IoT," ACT commented. The Center for Democracy & Technology said NTIA's assessment of IoT privacy issues is "inadequate." CDT said the IoT raises new questions about what constitutes personal data and privacy, which are challenging current legal frameworks. It said NTIA and Commerce should pursue consensus-based global standards and highlight efforts to promote privacy in the industry. NCTA commented that there are security areas the paper doesn't address including: incorporating a unique identifier for each IoT device; supporting authentication and authorization for users to validate a person to use a device and have permission to perform an operation; ensuring data at rest is protected; and "over manageability" of IoT devices for users. NCTA said users will need to keep an inventory of their devices, managing credentials, including when a device changes ownership. CTIA said 5G networks will "provide the speed, reliability and capacity necessary" for IoT growth, addressing "dense usage patterns in urban areas, and [powering] data-rich applications like high-resolution video and medical imaging, streaming media, and augmented and virtual reality." Microsoft worried about the expectation of "unlimited support" for connected devices, because some security advancements can be enabled only through new hardware, not patching. The company said unlimited support would probably stifle innovation by putting a large cost burden on new market entrants and dissuading consumers from buying new devices. CTA commended the paper for concluding that the IoT "require a reaffirmation, not a reevaluation" of government policy to encourage private sector leadership, global standards development and a multistakeholder approach in policy making. The group backed passage of the Digit Act (S-88), which would give Commerce lead responsibility in identifying regulatory hurdles to IoT development.

NTIA is taking the "right approach" to advancing the IoT, as outlined in a green paper released in January, finding "no need" for specific regulation and identifying areas where government can promote the technology, said the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in a comment. In the paper, the agency, which extended a deadline for comments by three weeks until Monday, said the Department of Commerce can promote IoT by using the technology and highlighting its benefits, encourage global development of technical standards to ensure interoperability, enable spectrum allocation and examine how it can remove hurdles to IoT innovation and promote norms to protect users (see 1701120050). In its filing, the chamber said the green paper recognizes that an industry-led approach to develop "voluntary, consensus-based, and global standards" that will promote interoperability and open cross-border data flows is "fundamental," which should be supported by government. Flexible, risk-based solutions should underpin security, said the filing. It said the government should "support more robust, protected collaboration; promote consumer awareness and responsibility; and address liability concerns." The chamber also urged the government to harmonize regulations to modernize telecommunications infrastructure and expand broadband networks to advance autonomous vehicles and drones. It said Congress should pass the Digit Act (see 1701250072 and 1701240059), which will encourage collaboration among government and industry stakeholders.

Comcast wrapped up its acquisition of Icontrol Networks’ Converge business for connected home security Wednesday, said Daniel Herscovici, senior vice president/general manager, Xfinity Home, in a blog post. Converge is the platform behind Xfinity Home, ADT Pulse and other connected home security services. IControl Networks agreed to sell the Converge platform to Comcast last summer (see 1606230060 and 1701120067) and its Connect business to Alarm.com. With the Converge platform, Comcast Xfinity Home is expanding into a “new wholesale line of business,” said Herscovici. Converge will continue to provide the underlying platform that powers home security and automation services to multichannel video programming distributors that Icontrol was serving in the U.S., Australia, Canada, and Japan, he said, and it will offer wholesale services to new domestic and international customers. Xfinity Home is establishing an IoT Center of Excellence in Austin, where IControl is based, to act as a hub for engineers and developers to support Xfinity Home’s various IoT businesses, he said.

The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council’s IoT Working Group scheduled its opening meeting Thursday noon-1 p.m. EST, NPSTC emailed. “This Working Group led by Chair, Barry Fraser, will examine the current state of IoT, identify public safety specific issues, and may create position reports for the NPSTC Governing Board or develop education and outreach documents,” NPSTC said. The meeting can be accessed by calling 510-227-1018, conference ID: 869-9040#. Also Thursday, NPSTC’s Emergency Medical Services Working Group will meet to approve the final draft of its rural considerations report. The meeting starts at 11 a.m. EST, NPSTC said. Call 510-227-1018, conference ID: 446-1830#.

NTIA extended the time to comment on an IoT green paper to March 13, the agency said in a Wednesday notice and tweet. The Department of Commerce agency didn't give a particular reason for extending the Monday deadline by another two weeks, saying it's seeking broad input. The paper, which was released more than a month ago, "lays out an approach and areas of engagement" for Commerce's potential work on IoT, including how it can tackle related policy challenges (see 1701120050).

Roughly 60 percent of respondents in an Open Connectivity Foundation survey of 250 respondents at CES said they consider standardization and interoperability, cybersecurity concerns, and overall technological innovation when buying connected devices, said OCF. Lack of industry consensus on open standards and protocols is hindering IoT market growth, it said. “Without seamless interoperability among connected devices, regardless of brand or manufacturer, the Internet of Things cannot reach its full potential,” said the group. Findings from the survey: 67 percent of respondents said they owned three or more connected devices; 80 percent planned to buy a connected device in the next six months; 54 percent showed a preference for devices that connect to the Internet; 63 percent said it’s important that devices interoperate and communicate seamlessly; and 60 percent said they would be much more likely to purchase connected devices with a security certification.

Ericsson and Intel said they're launching 5G Innovators Initiative (5GI2), “an open industry initiative designed to explore, test and innovate with 5G network and distributed edge technologies.” The group will focus on the industrial IoT, or IIoT, said Aicha Evans, general manager of the Intel Communication and Devices Group, in a Tuesday blog post. “The 5GI2 will join major equipment manufacturers, leading technology companies, industry leaders and top universities to accelerate the adoption of 5G wireless and infrastructure innovation in the U.S.” Initial members also include General Electric, Honeywell and the University of California, Berkeley. Evans said Intel will have multiple announcements next week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. At last year’s MWC, “we revealed our plans for 5G products and trial acceleration, rolling out our first-generation mobile trial platform that immediately offered the industry a development platform for fast prototyping, integration and testing,” she said. “Steady progress has followed. Throughout 2016, we entered into several 5G trials around the globe with tier-one service providers.” At CES in January, Intel released a 5G modem, “the world’s first global 5G modem that supports both sub-6 GHz and mmWave bands and transforms connectivity for a variety of use cases,” Evans said. 5G is already here, Evans said: "The big difference with 5G is that when you start to talk about ‘autonomy’ and factories, cars and hospitals thinking for themselves, they will rely on split-second connectivity to do so -- with no room for error.”