IoT security will exceed $51.42 billion in 2024, with a 22.3 percent compound annual growth rate the next five years, reported BIS Research Friday. It cited “the increasing number of data breaches, growing demand for IoT security regulations and guidelines, and the rising security demand for critical infrastructure.” North America is expected to lead the market in 2019, followed by Europe, and is expected to “maintain its dominance” during the period: “This unprecedented growth in North America is primarily attributed to the efforts made by federal bodies to provide IoT security regulations and guidelines. Moreover, the region is known for being one of the fastest technology adopters with a base to many key players.”

Israeli imaging company Vayyar launched a sensor for monitoring the interior of vehicles, it said, citing statistics showing more than 800 children have died due to vehicular heatstroke since 1998 because a child was forgotten by the caregiver. Vayyar’s sensors detect if an infant has been left in a vehicle, even if covered by a blanket or car seat, and send a notification to a driver’s phone to alert them of the danger, it said. The sensor meets country-specific frequency requirements such as a 79 GHz band in Japan, or a 60 GHz band in Europe and the U.S., it said.

T-Mobile launched what it says is the first asset tracking solution on a U.S. narrowband IoT network. It's "the next stage of development for the IoT market,” the carrier said.

Worldwide IoT spending is expected to reach $1.1 trillion in 2023, based on a 12.6 percent compound annual growth rate the next five years, said IDC Thursday. “Spending on IoT deployments continues with good momentum and is expected to be $726 billion worldwide this year." The consumer market will be the second largest source of IoT spending in 2019 behind manufacturing, with smart home and connected vehicle “use cases” the biggest growth drivers in the consumer sector, said IDC. It forecasts the consumer market to “overtake” manufacturing to become the largest source of IoT spending by 2023.

Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, reintroduced legislation directing a Commerce Department study on the “internet-connected devices industry” (see 1805220041). The State of Modern Application, Research and Trends of IoT Act would "make it easier to understand what the government is doing on IoT policy, what it can do better, and how federal policies can impact the research and discovery of cutting-edge technologies,” Latta said Monday.

Forward-thinking telecom companies can help facilitate disruptive changes to healthcare from broadband and digital health technologies, FCC Associate General Counsel Karen Onyeije said Monday during an FCBA event. She said cross-sector collaboration is crucial: “Think of the bedfellows we need to make.” The FCC plans to release an update on a broadband and opioid study in the next four to six weeks, said Onyeije. She's also chief of staff for FCC’s Connect2Health Broadband Task Force, which is designed to think five to 10 years out. Her agency is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to map the use of broadband as a social determinant of health, and they’ve created a conceptual model that includes opioid overdose data and mortality data in the hopes that it could help healthcare entrepreneurs identify those at risk and intervene sooner. “How do we play to where the puck will be?” Onyeije said. She cautioned that if not done correctly, the move to digital health could exacerbate health disparities because the technological advances won't be available to those who need them most. David Siddall of DS Law said that medical body area network (MBAN) technology is a classic case of spectrum sharing. When MBAN developers sought spectrum, they spent three years negotiating a sharing and interference mitigation arrangement with trade groups in the flight testing industry. The spectrum-sharing arrangement in place allows for use of the products in most U.S. hospitals, although Siddall noted that in larger cities, there might not be enough spectrum to cover all the hospitals. “The solution is more spectrum, but spectrum doesn’t grow on trees,” he said. Given the right spectrum, MBAN devices could be used to monitor patients in the home or ambulances, as well, he said. The first MBAN devices (wearable, bandage-size monitors) have yet to launch. Siddall believes product developers want to coordinate the technology with European standards first.

Verizon said Tuesday its narrowband IoT network is now available nationwide, covering more than 92 percent of the U.S. population. “There is a whole universe of smart solutions needing scalable and affordable connections,” said Jeffrey Dietel, senior vice president-business marketing and products. The standard price plan offers 50 KB of data with a $1 monthly access fee per device, Verizon said.

AT&T turned on its narrowband IoT network. "It’s a big step toward massive IoT and 5G,” blogged Chris Penrose, AT&T Business president-IoT solutions. It complements AT&T’s existing IoT network -- called LTE-M for LTE Cat M (see 1705180058) -- launched last year (see 1806200022), Penrose said Monday. "With NB-IoT, we now have two complementary Low-Power Wide Area networks -- including our LTE-M network in the U.S. and Mexico,” he said.

Apple representatives said the FCC shouldn’t adopt rules for the 6 GHz band that would put users’ privacy at risk. Technical rules in an NPRM “will robustly protect incumbents, making privacy-intrusive device-identification requirements unnecessary,” the company said in docket 18-295, posted Thursday. “Successful rules for the 6 GHz band will support innovative consumer products, including portable and mobile devices, in addition to access points.” Apple met with aides to all commissioners, except Chairman Ajit Pai. The agency is examining Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use of the band (see 1903190050).

Microsoft officials said they met with Chief Julius Knapp and others from the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology about the need for further changes to the TV white spaces rules. Among changes the company seeks are increasing the maximum height above average terrain of fixed white space devices from 250 meters to 500 meters, increasing radiated power in less congested areas from 40 to 42 dBm, permitting geofenced fixed operations on moving platforms and promoting the narrowband IOT, said a filing posted Friday in docket 12-268. "These improvements are the product of Microsoft’s experience with White Spaces technology including input from device manufacturers and rural broadband providers, as well as extensive discussions with other stakeholders," the company said.