The National Institute of Standards and Technology wants comment by Oct. 8 on a paper on IoT device security, said the agency Tuesday. The paper focuses on “trusted IoT device network-layer onboarding and lifecycle management.” It discusses how to prevent “unauthorized devices from connecting to the network” and protecting devices from “being taken over by unauthorized networks.”
Cable and other Wi-Fi advocates urged the FCC to act on reallocating the 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed use, in a call with an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai. Charter Communications, Comcast, Facebook and NCTA were among those on the call. “The 5.9 GHz band is key to delivering gigabit Wi-Fi and much-needed unlicensed capacity to American consumers in the very near term,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-138: “Consumers heavily rely on Wi-Fi to connect to the internet, as Wi-Fi carries a majority of internet traffic and a significant percentage of the traffic offloaded from mobile networks, and are using it more than ever before to work, learn, connect with each other and engage with their communities from a distance.” A vote on the band is expected at the Oct. 27 commissioners’ meeting (see 2008200040).
Industrial Internet of Things Coalition members “described the difficulties critical industries experience in acquiring much-needed spectrum, in particular broadband spectrum, both in the auction process and in the aftermarket,” in a meeting with FCC Wireless Bureau staff, said a filing posted Monday in docket 19-38: “Their spectrum needs are defined by industrial operational requirements that do not necessarily conform to FCC population or geographic criteria designed to ensure optimal wireless coverage for consumer use.” Southern Linc, the Enterprise Wireless Alliance, Edison Electric Institute, Anterix and Utilities Technology Council participated.
Deutsche Telekom will launch an IoT unit, the “world's first open platform” for the IoT combining “connectivity, devices, cloud services and solutions for data analysis,” DT said Monday.
Intel teamed with Tile on technology to make laptops “findable,” they said Thursday. Due this year for OEM adoption, it will let users find their PCs, including when in sleep mode.
Silicon Labs shares closed 7.7% higher at $102.66 Wednesday after the company reported stronger than expected Q1 earnings. Revenue was $214.9 million vs. $188.1 million in the year-ago quarter. IoT revenue, falling 8% sequentially, was up 11% year on year to $118 million; infrastructure and automotive grew 19% year on year, to $97 million. IoT revenue growth was led by microcontrollers followed by strength in 802.15.4 wireless products for home automation, security and lighting applications, said Chief Financial Officer John Hollister. The company, which announced completion of its $308 million cash Redpine Signals purchase Tuesday (see 2004280067), drew down $310 million from its bank credit facility to fund the acquisition out of an “abundance of caution given uncertainties surrounding the current environment,” he said. Redpine’s low-power Wi-Fi products and intellectual property are important technology for IoT connectivity, said CEO Tyson Tuttle, saying Wi-Fi 6 will become a key wireless technology to meet the low power performance, security and interoperability requirements needed in the IoT. China is “rebounding strongly,” said Tuttle, and Silicon Labs is encouraged by “stimulus activity” on the communications infrastructure side that will “bleed over” into IoT. On the company’s Z-Wave and Zigbee home automation business, Tuttle said operators and security installers are feeling the impact of not being able to access customers’ homes during the coronavirus shutdown. Retailers are feeling a boost from online ordering from do-it-yourselfers, but retail stores will take a “bit of a hit.” Q2 guidance is for lower revenue, $190 million-$210 million. Silicon Labs is acting to protect profitability including by “prioritizing hiring, virtually halting travel and participation in events worldwide, and judiciously evaluating discretionary projects and expenditures,” Hollister said. Tuttle reported “minimal disruption” in the supply chain during the pandemic and “strong” bookings and revenue late in the quarter.
Dialog Semiconductor announced availability of a software module designed to reduce the cost of adding Bluetooth connectivity to an IoT system. The DA14531 SmartBond Tiny module targets connected consumer, medical, smart home and smart appliance applications. The module's software eliminates complexity associated with traditional Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) development to help customers develop “robust IoT products regardless of their software coding capabilities,” said the company. The DA14531, which integrates an antenna and required components, adds BLE functionality to an IoT system at a volume cost of under $1.
Omnispace's first two non-geostationary orbit S-band satellites are expected to launch in 2021, it said Thursday. It hired Thales Alenia Space to develop the satellite infrastructure for its hybrid narrow-band IoT/mobile network.
Tech companies said very-low-power devices, which don’t require automatic frequency control, are critical as the FCC looks at Wi-Fi in the 6 GHz band. VLP devices can be used for augmented- and virtual-reality, headphones, game controllers, keyboards, hearing aids and other applications, said Apple, Broadcom, Facebook and Google in a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295. “The VLP device class would ensure that the 6 GHz band supports a class of technologies that our companies see as central to the next generation of wireless innovation -- personal area networks,” the companies said: “Not only are higher powers unnecessary for these devices, they are counterproductive because personal area devices are smaller and battery-driven, requiring extreme energy efficiency.” The four and other companies, including Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Qualcomm, proposed “a simple rule to identify a class of fixed client devices for certification purposes” in a second filing. CTA spoke with aides to Pai about the band: “CTA has a keen interest in ensuring the availability of spectrum needed to enable the widespread adoption of connected devices and services.”
ON Semiconductor bowed a connected lighting platform with Bluetooth Low Energy and Power over Ethernet capability, it said Monday. The prototyping platform enables engineering teams to “explore and innovate” in the connected lighting sector,” said ON. It offers up to 90 watts output power and provides two independent channels, each able to supply and control up to 16 LEDs, said the company. The high-efficiency modular platform enables the development of battery-less LED lighting applications when used with the Energy Harvesting Bluetooth Low Energy switch. A PoE module for high-power, wired connectivity, based on the IEEE 802.3bt-compliant NCP1096 interface controller, extends the platform to provide access to 90 watts of power that can be delivered through an Ethernet cable, said the company. “Lighting is one of the most significant consumers of energy across the globe,” said Wiren Perera, head-IoT strategy at ON. By combining flexibility, wireless control, and energy efficiency, the platform allows manufacturers to “drastically reduce their energy consumption while providing greater user convenience."